The Future of Luxury Fashion in Conscious Creation

Amidst the hustle and bustle of factory produced and clutter of cloth waste is one French house of fashion which is now creating in reverse. Hermès has been a staunch believer of animism. It is the belief that all objects have a spiritual essence. One such atelier of Hermès is the petit h. Whether it is turning a discarded piece ofo leather into a charm or leftover silk into a shoelace, Hermès is all about reducing waste and making the best use of every possible resource.

The genius of Pascale Mussard, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Thierry Hermès, it is ateliers such as this one, that will help instil the values of resourcefulness and conservation in design houses, eventually leading to a sustainable mindset for all involved in the process.

Mussard had then passed on the reins of this atelier to Godefroy de Virieu who now leads the work of petit as its creative director.

The public always questions the excessive waste that luxury fashion industry generates. Such acts by certain houses make one believe that conscious creation yet exists.

He says this creative atelier isn’t a preconceived idea.  Unused Hermès materials are used by skilful hands and clever minds to improvise, combine into a thousand and one different ways to create something useful and joyful.

This atelier is proving to be an incredible opportunity since the atelier has complete freedom. Materials which they wouldn’t usually mix are also integrated into these new products and even new techniques. It is this connection between artists and materials that lead to the creation of something simply astounding. The atelier calls itself ‘the laboratory of ideas with a very simple mindset.’

As an effect of Covid-19, it has made the craftsman even more aware than before. They realised that everything is precious and that they must do with what is available to them. In such difficult situations, new inventions and avenues are opened. It has become important, today more than ever, to ask ourselves what we produce, what our materials become and what we consume.

The uniqueness of Hermès atelier, petit h lies in creating objects that are unused or surplus materials. Hence, this is relevant now more than ever. Pascale Mussard believes in “there is no object without a goal”. Therefore, no object is created in the atelier, which doesn’t serve a purpose.

For example, a Saint-Louis crystal glass that becomes a salt-shaker, with a ready-to-wear button and a leather base. This salt-shaker was thought up during a workshop with the Swiss design school, ECAL. A student had the fantastic idea when he saw the six holes on a button from Martin Margiela’s women’s ready-to-wear collection.

The atelier doesn’t take any particular order since there is already an atelier who does this. This would be a flaw in the principle of petit h. Their objects are supposed to be created from the materials they have at their disposal.

The main principle while designing such objects is to take a new look at the materials we have and to give them a new life through the making of useful items.

Godefroy de Virieu remembers how they had stumbled upon and collaborated with a luthier to create a guitar whose shape is made with a horse's pommel. A magnificent project that one can discover in their magazine Le Monde d'Hermès.