SINGAPORE: Beyond that highly coveted handbag and iconic silk scarf, Hermès has long been in the business of making fine furniture.
The French luxury goods company has made furniture since the early 1920s, when it first commissioned pieces by legendary interior decorator Jean-Michel Frank. In recent years, the brand’s collection of furniture, tableware and decorative design offerings – known as the Hermès Maison Universe – has steadily expanded to a fuller complementary collection in the hands of co-deputy artistic directors Charlotte Macaux Perelman and Alexis Fabry.
Now, there’s Through The Walls, an immersive exhibition of that home universe created specially for Singapore. Showing at the brand’s Liat Towers flagship store, this exhibition – a world-first – will run from Oct 7 to Oct 29.
The upper levels of the store have been transformed into a striking scenography by Jean-Christophe Vaillant & Hervé Sauvage, inviting visitors to experience the diversity of the Hermès home collection, such as wallpapers, furnishing fabrics, and even lighting.
Inspired by the anarchitecture of American artist, Gordon Matta-Clark, the exhibition is billed as one that “deconstructs and reinvents spaces with humour and surprise, bringing each Hermès object to life”. The Link (Lien d’Hermès) is the main theme of this collection, both in its formal appearance and in its inspiration, drawn from the equestrian heritage of the storied house of Hermès.
Mahjong tiles made out of leather are just some of the bespoke pieces shown at the Through The Walls exhibition. (Photo: Edward Hendricks for Hermès, Paris 2017)
So why was Singapore the specially chosen location?
“I feel that people here don’t really know much about what we’re doing at Hermès Maison,” Perelman told Channel NewsAsia ahead of the exhibition’s opening. “And I saw that this was the right moment to convey and show our vision.
“People are aware of Hermès – that it’s very rigorous and the furniture very well done. But the fantasy (element)? That’s always in a small amount, so people don’t really see it,” she said. “So it was important for us to show that this kind of fantasy is part of Hermès too. I think it was the right moment to do it here.”
According to Perelman, it was imperative to “bring fantasy in an architectural way”.
“That is why we show the broken walls and the bones of architecture to convey the sense of space and not just décor,” she explained.
Through The Walls is all about bringing “fantasy in an architectural way”. (Photo: Edward Hendricks for Hermès, Paris 2017)
Perelman emphasised that the home department should also carry on with the core values of Hermès.
“Alexis and I didn’t want to create a break; both of us wanted to stay within the Hermès heritage, we wanted it to carry the same values,” she said. “So when we design an object, or furniture or wallpaper, we are always wondering if it’s the right project for Hermès.”
“We are always trying to think if it’s the right material, the right design, or even if it’s the right way of doing it.”
Through The Walls runs from Oct 7 to Oct 29 at Liat Towers, Hermès flagship store in Singapore. (Photo: Edward Hendricks for Hermès, Paris 2017)
Perelman, who has been at the helm of the home universe since 2014, said that it was vital that every object in the collection was in balance with one another.
“What is important is that the whole collection has to have a meaning together. The link is very important. It’s the interaction between the objects,” she said. “In this scenography, we wanted to emphasise fantasy. We also wanted to show our furniture and we wanted to emphasise our wallpaper.
“For me, wallpaper is decorative but it also changes the way you see the architecture. It’s like wrappings; it changes the space completely. And I wanted to convey this sense of space and architecture.”
The wallpapered stairway at the Through The Walls exhibition. (Photo: Edward Hendricks for Hermès, Paris 2017)
Perelman says that collaboration is also key for Hermès, whether it’s with the craftsman or other designers.
“We respect this relationship between designer and craftsman a lot,” she said. “For me, it’s very important.”
As for the process of selecting which design industry heavyweight to work with, Perelman, herself an architect by training, says it’s all very “simple”.
“(Both Alexis and I) make our own process. We always agree and it only takes two minutes. It’s very easy and we know what we want,” she said. “We don’t go for names. We don’t work with famous names. We always look for a specific designer for a specific project.”
She cited French designer Pierre Chapin as an example.
“When we did the lacquer with Pierre, who’s a great French designer and a great colourist, he was just coming back from Japan where he was in a six-month residence with a lacquer master. We wanted to use his expertise for this project. For us, the collaboration must always has a meaning.”
Will the exhibition be travelling elsewhere after its run in Singapore?
“We just made this for Singapore and for this store so it’s supposed to be unique,” she said. “I guess we’ll see. A lot of people have expressed wanting the same scenography, but I’m not sure we want to repeat ourselves.
“Maybe we’ll tell another story. I think there’s a lot of other things to say.”
