Hermès

Hermès was a saddle and harness company when it was created in 1837 by Thierry Hermès. Soon it became a very successful luxury saddlery. It was awarded the gold medal at the world fair in 1867, attracting new clientele, from bourgeoisie and elite to royals from all over the world. When Charles-Emile, Thierry’s son, took over in 1878, he added a leather workshop to the company, in order to meet the riders’ demand for leather accessories. When in 1914, Adolphe and Emile-Maurice succeeded their father, they had to adjust to luxury innovations like automobile. They created the first travel luggage. From his business trips to the U.S.A, Emile-Maurice brought back the exclusive rights for the zipper in France. From the 1920s on, Maison Hermès added new lines related to travel, automobile or sports. Its golden age was reached in the 1930s when Robert Dumas, Emile-Maurice”s son-in-law, brought out women accessories like the “Carré” (scarf)  Hermes in 1937  and in 1935 the iconic handbag named Kelly 21 years later. The perfume department was launched in the 1950s under the management of Jean-René Guerrand.