Many a moon ago, I wondered over to the Saatchi Gallery to visit the Hermes Exhibition. It was AMAZING!!!! It is a travelling tour, so hopefully if you did miss it you may catch it sometime soon.
The main highlight of the exhibition was the demonstration of the printing of a traditional silk scarf. The entire process can take up to 2 years from beginning to end. The minimum amount of colours for a scarf is 14 and ranges to 48. Each colour has to be placed on with its on print screen. These print screens depending on the attention to detail can take up to 6,000 hours. HOW INSANE IS THAT!!! The paint is placed on each layer and at the factory is done in lengths of 100 scarfs. If ONE little tiny piece of dust lands on the line then all are ruined. This can sometimes happen after the 46th layer. Imagine the pain!!! JUST IMAGINE!!
Listening to the colour specialist, the attention to detail to create one of these scarfs is just a beautiful process. Down to the small facts that one butterfly needs to lay like 300 eggs or something to create enough fine silk to produce one scarf or how Hermes is welcome to view ideas from all over the world. Most recently a 13 year old boy from Africa had his sketch sold. These sketch's are kept in the archive for 15 years. After this date they can be reissued but have to be in an alternative colours. There was just so much information to absorb. That I would be writing forever to explain it all. I shall save that information for a drunken rant. HEY EVERYBODY GUESS HOW MUCH I KNOW ABOUT SCARFS!
Back to the actual artwork here.
It is the colours that make Hermes so so special. The beautiful mixtures make them so memorable and classic throughout the ages. The colourist could spot the year of production just from one particular colour. Every year the theme changes and only around 10 prints are used but are produced in the desired colours for the season that all the shop managers and buyers from all their suppliers from over the world come to Leon to decide twice a year. (This years theme is sport, I think Olympic fever must have caught on)
The exhibition also had examples of all the other fine work this famous brand creates such as the handbags, clothes and China.
I just wanted to run home to look at my own to truly appreciate the attention to detail. (THANKS MUM, loves a hand me down)
I guess I will start saving up my pennies now to be able to purchase some more. I guess if I start saving now the butterfly that will create my scarf may be being born.
(That's weird I am aware. Also I do not think that if you just go to London Zoo and steal a butterfly that you will have Hermes scarf in 2 years. Oh how I wish that would be true)
Au Revoir
Apologies for the major absence, and also post about an event from months back, but the colours were just too pretty not to share!!
xx
