Renowned for their finesse, French fashion house Hermès took over La Pelota during the Salone Milan 2017 to present their ‘collections for the home 2017-2018’

The minimal structure inspired by stables, the place where the Hermès adventure as a producer of horse harnesses began in 1837, contains the new furnishings, accessories, fabrics and wallpapers by the French house.

Designed by Charlotte Macaux-Perelmann (artistic director of Hermès Maison ) in collaboration with Alexis Fabry, the large pavilion of the French label resembles a Mediterranean equestrian stables house with lime white washed walls and floors in bricks ( handmade in Umbria )and over-sized timber beams that cast intense diagonal shadows over a brightly lit sequence of rooms.

“Our main highlights are precision, balance, the match between the various materials” …….. Alexis Fabry

“ There is a very strong link between the architecture we’ve chosen, the objects and the scene. We really wanted to strike a balance between the three things.” Similarly, the objects themselves are presented in a balanced manner with a non-hierarchical sequence.” …… Charlotte Macaux-Perelman

“Everything is on the same footing, be it textile, wallpaper, home object, tableware or furnishing,” ……Alexis Fabry.

From the form and detail of each object to the form and atmosphere of the pavilion, the presentation conveyed absolute precision.

One would expect nothing less of Hermès

“We wanted a very light place with a Mediterranean atmosphere. We really wanted to create a tension – a sort of vibration – and convey the impression of light and the impression of not being in a pavilion but being in a building,” ……….. Charlotte Macaux Perelman.

To understand the objects and furniture for the home by Hermès – and they are indeed objects to be understood is to understand the heritage of Hermès.

The brand’s equestrian roots (in saddle and harness making in the 1830s) continue to permeate through its design for the home, which is lead by Deputy Artistic Directors Charlotte Macaux Perelman and Alexis Fabry under Artistic Director Pierre-Alexis Dumas.

The focus of many of the objects is leather as a form of linkage – dressing objects as it dressed the horse in the form of saddles and harnesses.

Using leather as the link between them, the pieces aim to re-engage with the first act of the saddler and the harness-maker: to dress the objects as they dress the horse.

More accurately, the leather is used as a means of ‘revealing’ the objects just as it formerly ‘exposed’ the body of the horse (which was previously concealed and hampered by ceremonial trappings).

As lids, straps and sheathing, leather serves as a link between materials such as maple, lacquer, wicker, crystal and metal, as well as between the object and the user of the object.

With pieces designed by Alvaro Siza, Barber & Osgerby and Pierre Charpin amongst others, the Hermès’ collections for the home 2017-2018 combines leather with light maple wood, lacquer, wicker, crystal and metal, revealing more than it masks and highlighting the structure it decorates.

Cast in bronze, in a single-use mould, ‘ AES’ by British duo Barber & Osgerby is a coffee table that has been reduced to its purest line.

Its aesthetics resemble a metal girder or a rail that absorbs light to then reflect it with even more brilliance.

Behind its apparent austerity, the table exhibits skillful finishes through the combination of the matt material and the waxed patina of its surface that allows for leather additions.

Amongst the sophisticated new products was Karumi by Portugese architect Álvaro Siza: two stools (triangular and square) and a bench produced by Japanese masters who have combined carbon fibre and bamboo to give rise to an extremely robust but lightweight material mix, shaped into extremely precise and sinuous forms by a Japanese master craftsman

Tie Set, a ceramics line inspired by the micro-patterns of ties that lands itself to infinite playful combinations.

“Lien d’ Hermès” is largely inspired by leather, along with the link, a signature motif that binds the leading fashion house to its equestrian origins as a saddle-maker.

“Èquipages d’Hermès” provides a sober and stylish furniture selection which artfully mixes leather and wood features with rattan and brass finishes – a line of multifunctional pieces conceived to fit any modern living requirement.

A collection of furnishing fabrics and wallpapers designed by Italian illustrator Gianpaolo Pagni was also revealed, with a special consideration for kids: let them enjoy a wide range of fun patterns made of small houses and cubes, stripes and horses, each of them rigorously hand-drawn.