Simply Abu Dhabi XXII

2 7 4 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Hermès SS 2016 Womenswear I n 1837 Thierry Hermès opened his workshop making the finest quality harnesses and saddles in the heart of Paris. In the early 20th century, Hermès developed detailed saddle stitching techniques for the production of wallets, luggage, handbags, watchbands, and accessories for golfing, hunting and polo playing, and began to design couture sportswear. The company has remained a family-run business that has always been committed to making their products with fine materials and attention to detail for more than 160 years, continuing to build on its reputation for superb quality. In the 1920s Hermès designed one of the first leather garments of the 20th century: a zippered golfing jacket for the Prince of Wales, which made fashion news. The fourth generation of owners were two sons-in- law, Jean-Rene Guerrand and Robert Dumas, who added scarves and perfume to the line. Today, the Hermès scarf is one of the most popular and bestselling items in the line. By designing a large square of silk printed with boldly scaled figural scenes, Hermès invented a whole new type of fashion accessory, one that has maintained its popularity for more than seventy years. The company is also famous for the Kelly Bag, based on a saddle bag, first launched in 1937. In 1955, the Kelly Bag was named after the actress Grace Kelly, who was frequently seen carrying one. Since the 1980s, the names of designers associated with Hermès have included Eric Bergere, Martin Margiela and Jean Paul Gaultier. Today Hermès is still a family company whose craftspeople make, often by hand, bags and belts, diaries and dishes, scarves and shoes, perfumes and purses, ties and travelling furniture, as well as gloves, hats, watches, jewellery and clothes. There are more than 215 stores around the world, and countless boutiques in high-end department stores in Europe, Asia and the US. In terms of style, Hermès is a stealth luxury House that brings that classy kind of anonymity the French do so well: beautifully cut clothes and accessories that don’t necessarily scream a brand. Aside from the coveted Birkin and Kelly bags – and now, the hugely desirable Apple Watch Hermès collection – most of what goes on at Hermès doesn’t and shouldn’t slap you in the face. That’s what's so good about it. Hermès uses ingeniously crafted, superfine fabrics and leather, and it is the essence of the cultivated French point of view that if you have wealth, it must be spent so that it doesn’t show except to those of your class. Vanhee-Cybulski’s spring 2016 collection for Hermès is made up of the House’s classic DNA but is inspired by juxtapositions – from the mustard-color dresses in contrasting fabrics of cotton and leather, to the inclusion of Hermès trainers withmany of the smarter looks bringing a sports spirit and a carefully calibrated