Sandra‘s Closet

Let’s Play!

Yes, play! Because playing means being together, because it’s a way of learning about ourselves and others, a way of letting chance have its say, of both controlling and letting go. Because it is joyous, jubilant even. Because play reshuffles the pack. Because play is movement, freedom, imagination, fantasy, seduction, lightness. Where there’s play, there’s hope! But yes! After all, don’t players form a kind of alternative society? Doesn’t play itself form the outline of an utopia? Could we create, could we invent, could we even just imagine if we didn’t play? Certainly not at Hermès in any case, where our first comrade in play was the horse. Who knows, maybe that is the secret of our longevity. For a hundred and eighty years, this house has never stopped playing.

Pierre-Alexis Dumas
Artistic Director of Hermès

Mid June, I flew to Paris as guest of HERMÈS (those who have been following me on Instagram have already seen many photos and impressions), to celebrate the Maison’s theme for 2018 which is «Let’s Play», evoking emotions of whimsicality and playfulness. Each year has a theme that celebrates the French iconic brand’s vision and creative direction. As Pierre-Alexis Dumas said: «This year, Hermès is inviting you to play. It is meant to encourage people to break down barriers, let loose and have fun.»

With Pierre-Alexis Dumas, artistic director of Hermès. Under his direction, the firm has seen its biggest growth in decades, with sales of 4 billion euros in 2014.

The story of HERMÈS’ year themes started in 1987 with the «Year of the Fireworks» to celebrate the brand’s 150th anniversary and was conceived by the late chairman and chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas. Since then, it has been a consistent feature of the brand and each year, new amazing themes take place.

Past Year Themes:
2012: The Gift of Time
2013: The Sporting Life
2014: Metamorphosis, an Hermès Story
2015: Flâneur Forever
2016: Nature at Full Gallop
2017: Le Sens de l’Objet

The concierge was announcing my arrival at the festivities.

When I was in Paris, HERMÈS turned the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild into a «Play House» and  interpreted the game in all its forms: board games, optical illusions, televised games, charade games, casino, and a musical quiz, just to name a few things that played with our senses that night.

When I arrived, I was greeted by my name by the concierge in the courtyard. Two sphynx-inspired ladies portraying the famous woman-headed lions of greek mythology were guiding us through the hallway up to the playrooms.

The dress code said «overdressed with a sense of humor» and everyone came up with the most amazing, hyper-elegant, extravagant, quirky looks.
It was definitely worth putting some effort in your outfit as the French brand spared no expense in showing its company theme «Let’s Play» by transforming the location into an immersive fun fair. Games were everywhere besides champagne and yummy food, both in the living rooms on the ground floor and the first floor. At each game, there were actors to explain the rules, to bring them to life, to hand out little nuts…

This Hermès Fantasy was equipped with all of the elements you could possibly imagine: from a wheel of fortune to roulette, from an area where you could play «sit and run» to skittle dog.

«We are a traditional company of craftsmanship and a creative company of today,» noted Hermès CEO Axel Dumas. Even he – a sixth-generation scion of Hermès founder Thierry Hermès – isn’t immune to the brand’s playfulness.

With Axel Dumas, CEO Hermès

Stay tuned for the detailed outfit post to follow about my playing cards-inspired look and enjoy more impressions of this fantastic night below.

LoL, Sandra

Time to play…

Get lucky or die trying

Skittle Dog!

Spin the wheel!

So much fun to play musical quiz.

Closet life: posting live from the event.

A huge thank you to Françoise Garnier, Hermès Switzerland, for inviting me and for taking all the photos! We had such a great time together.

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht and Courtesy of Hermès

Yesterday, an Hermès Niloticus Birkin bag made «fashion history» when it sold for a record price of HK$2.98 million which is around US$383,522 at Christie’s in Hong Kong. As South China Morning Post reports it became the world’s most expensive handbag ever sold at an auction, the Holy Grail for bag lovers so to say.

The muse: Jane Birkin

Yesterday’s auction at Christie’s in Hong Kong

We all know that a Birkin bag is a safe investment due to its long waiting list and probably even more lucrative than stocks. According to the Independent, there was a study published in January 2016 that compared three different types of investments: the S&P 500 (an index that reflects the stock market and is said to be the leading indicator of U.S. equities); gold; and Hermès Birkin handbags. The research concluded that the latter are by far the safest investment of the three as they’re not subject to fluctuations in the market. Fans of the iconic piece tend to beat the lines by scoring it at one of those auctions where it has been continuously breaking price records.

In yesterday’s case, a matte white Niloticus Crocodile Himalaya Birkin 30 with a diamond-encrusted white-gold buckle and hardware was auctioned by an anonymous collector, who won the bid by phone and who is surprisingly not from Asia.

Object of desire: A rare exceptional Matte White Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Birkin 30 with 18k white gold diamond-encrusted hardware.

What is so special about this Niloticus Crocodile Himalaya Birkin bag? It is one of the most coveted bags due to its extreme rarity, status symbol and exquisite craftsmanship. A similar style was auctioned for HK$2.94 million at Christie’s last year. The gradation of the color of the crocodile leather resembles the majestic, snow-capped Himalayas, from smoky grey to pearly white. The diamond-encrusted hardware make it of course extra scarce. 

So beautiful and rare: the Niloticus Crocodile Himalaya Kelly 28 bag with Palladium Hardware, approximately €60,000–80,000.

Apart from the Birkins, Hermès also started to craft a few Himalaya Kelly bags for top clients, which are fabled as «the rarest handbags in the world».

Personally speaking on top of my wish list…

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Via Hermès, South China Morning Post