Pierre-Alexis Dumas

The Fashion Statement: Who is Christophe Lemaire?

Filed under: Apparel, The Fashion Statement

If you don't know who Christophe Lemaire is, you're not alone. Last week, French couturier Hermès made the announcement that by fall of next year, creative director Jean-Paul Gaultier will be out and Christophe Lemaire will be in. See my colleague Deidre Woollard's post.

So who is Christophe Lemaire? Even people in fashion industry, who tend to be aware of any and all up-and-comers, were scratching their heads. Sure, Lemaire has been at Lacoste for the last decade and breathed new life into the brand. And, yes, he's had his own line since 1991. But haute couture houses at the level of Hermès is usually the stomping ground of well-established and well-known designers. Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton and Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, to name a few. Surely, Michelle Obama's inauguration gown designer Jason Wu has gotten more ink of late.

Which is why we're all the more intrigued by this choice. "I think the appointment of Christophe is very ambitious," Hermès' general artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas told The New York Times. "Maybe in five years I will look back and think it was a terrible mistake-or a wonderful surprise. I like that. I think we need that. Hermès is really born out of movement. It's not that we were avoiding a famous name. What comes first now is talent."

Tags: Christophe Lemaire, Hermes, jean paul gaultier, Kelly bag, Pierre-Alexis Dumas

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What Hermès Plans for the Future

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Handbags

Hermès has been expanding steadily since it started back in 1837 as a saddle shop, today still offering long-lasting excellence in all things leather but also now large-scale items like helicopters and yachts. And it seems that growth will continue into the future, with Hermès' artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas looking to forge ahead into untapped territory, namely by expanding the innovative carbon fiber suitcase that was first introduced twenty years ago into a full line of luggage and by delving into "space and home" goods. As he said in an interview with the Wallstreet Journal "We have to reinvent ourselves. If we launch a perfume and it is like what we did in the '70s, what's the point? We are constantly reassessing who we are. Hermès is going to expand more on space and home. If you have a very large boat, what are you going to put inside?"

A beautiful Hermès leather chair and sofa, hopefully.

Hermès recently won the Luxist Awards Readers' Choice nod for Best Leathergoods Line. The company also opened its first men's store (shown above) on Madison Avenue in New York City last month.

Via JustLuxe

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Tags: hermes, leathergoods, luggage, luxury, luxury branding, pierre-alexis dumas