Hermes Information Guide

Founded by Thierry Hermes, a French leather artisan who opened a workshop on rue Basse-du-Rempart, Paris in  1837. He specialized in crafting high-quality saddlery and harnesses for horses. The workshop quickly gained a reputation for its exceptional craftsmanship, and its clients included members of the French nobility and other wealthy equestrians.

Hermès today is best known for their handbags. Each Hermès handbag is still hand produced in France by its appointed artisans. Each artisan is appointed to one handbag style. This handcraft is especially labour-intensive, taking anywhere between 15-20 hours to create one handbag. The famous Birkin can take up to 40 hours. thus creating a bottleneck in supply. The philosophy and aim has always been to remain “ultra-premium luxury”, which can only be afforded by the very few.

The Kelly bag was one of the first handbags introduced by Hermès. Its first prototype, ‘Haut à courroies’, was designed in 1892 to hold a horse saddle. In 1928, Robert Dumas reinvented the prototype to a more glamorous design, ‘Sac à dépêches’, which stands for nobility and understated elegance. This was considered the first “handbag” created by Hermes. During filming Hitchcock’s film “To Catch a Thief,” much of Hermes accessories were used, catching American actress Grace Kelly’s attention. The actress/princess fell so in love with the handbag, it was renamed the Kelly bag.

Hermes creates their handbags in 2 different styles: retourne and sellier. Retourne simply means that the handbag was crafted and then turned inside out, leaving the stitching on the inside and unseen. Sellier on the other hand, has the stitching on the outside and is completely visible. The biggest difference between these two bags is that the retourne bags have more of a slouchy, relaxed look whereas sellier bags are more shaped and formal. The Birkin is usually made in the retourne style and it wasn’t until 2019 when the Birkin sellier was introduced.