Hermes

Via Hermes.com

I read Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster when it was published in 2008.  The upshot is that the corporatization of luxury brands (e.g., LVMH, PPR Luxury Group, etc.) has meant that shareholders demand maximum profitability, meaning that luxury goods are less luxury and more mass produced and are subject to shortcuts to keep profit margins high, e.g., the luxury Italian handbags that are "Made in Italy," but are actually manufactured in a plant in China and then shipped to Italy for a final buckle to be installed, thus meeting the minimum requirement to qualify for the "Made in Italy" claim*.

The research that went into Deluxe revealed that only one true luxury brand remains**:  Hermes. Founded in 1837 as a saddlery, the company has evolved into the ultimate luxury brand.

Six Little-known facts about Hermes (via Harper's Bazaar):

1. The length of thread necessary to make 1,000 Hermes scarves is equal to the distance between the earth and moon.  One silk moth yields one scarf.

2. The Kelly bag is made with 35 pieces of leather and 680 hand stitches.

3. A silk colorist works with a chart of 75,000 hues to create new color schemes each season.  [And I thought they primarily used orange and tan leather.]

4. The leather ateliers receive more than 600,000 skins per year.  Each skin has a bar code to keep track of its origin and specific treatment.

5. Hermes's start in fine jewelry came from working with silver to trim saddlery--the house's first clients were horses, of course!

6. A Birkin bag can take up to 25 hours to create.

My second take-away from Deluxe had more personal application.  With Hermes' handbags costing approximately $10-12,000, owning one will be highly unlikely for me. In this instance, we can safely invoke the word "never". What could cross my path, however, is the availability of counterfeit goods, also discussed in Deluxe. Although I was never a fan of such goods, the conditions under which such products are made (by the youngest of children) are unthinkable.  There are several examples that will challenge any notion that counterfeiting is a victimless crime.  While I may never own anything from the esteemed Hermes brand, I also will shun any counterfeit product.

*We have a similar story with our keeping room furniture.  We purchased a coffee and end tables in Asheville, North Caroline a few years ago.  The tables are locally produced from local wood by local artisans, but the finished materials are shipped to China for assembly and then shipped back for sale.

**Chanel would qualify as a distant second.