“It was the first time we worked with leather. We experienced the ateliers and let ourselves be led by the artisans: so, we designed a belt that would tell the story of the Maison’s origins in saddlery”. On October 15, the Prix Hermès des Accessoires de Mode, a contest (in its third edition) for emerging talents, was awarded at the Hyères Arts Centre. 10 candidates spent 6 months in the group’s workshops, under the guidance of the craftsmen themselves, to study the concept of the belt. On the top step of the podium was the chestnut calfskin bustier (pictured, from Vanity Fair) designed by Lola Mossino (24) and Indra Eudaric (34) and renamed La Cavalière. It is precisely from the words of the two young designers that we understand how Hermès uses these occasions to convey its history and raise awareness of the quality of leather.
Prix Hermès winners
“This is the first time we have worked with leather,” Mossino and Eudaric told Vanity Fair. “For our project, it was important to create a connection between body and material. Since we had a lot of surface area to cover, the first challenge was the choice of leather and its thickness”. This is where the advantage of working on a creative project in the beating heart of a luxury brand comes in. Just as they were mulling over the choice of material, “a saddler working in the Faubourg brought us his experience. In fact, of the art of saddlery, we used not only the leathers, but also the upholstery techniques.
Our belt is the result of a collaboration between the belt and saddlery workshops”. The La Cavalière model acts as a bridge between the various universes of Hermès at all levels: “When we got to know the maison from the inside, from its know-how to its connection with the horse, the idea of the saddle became obvious. We immediately understood that we wanted to work on this concept. On the link between the woman’s body, the horse, the leather, from a very organic perspective”.
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