Sandra‘s Closet

After the announcement of Sergio Rossi’s death, another creative mastermind has left us. This morning, I received the announcement that «it is with great emotion and sadness that the House of Hermès learned on the 4th of April 2020 the passing of Leïla Menchari, the Queen of Enchantment as Michel Tournier called her.»

The book in English entitled «Leïla Menchari, the Queen of Enchantment» can be ordered online on the Hermès website and shows most of her works for the French Maison.

Born in 1927 in Tunis, Leïla was a trained painter at the Beaux Arts School of fine arts in Tunis, then the Beaux Arts School of fine arts in Paris, she was a model for Guy Laroche for a while, before entering the Annie Beaumel‘s decoration team at Hermès in 1961.

Window display S/S 1995 with a sculpture by Christian Renonciat

An outstanding dreamer and storyteller, she was the Artistic Director of the windows of 24 Faubourg, the Hermès flagship store in Paris. Her visual concepts never ceased to arouse curiosity, astonishment and surprise to the amazement of passers-by, creating windows that opened to another realm. «Thanks to Leïla, exoticism found a home, happily and permanently, in Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré», says Axel Dumas.

The glass green grotto from 1992 was among of Leïla’s highlights.

In 2017, Hermès à tire-d’aile, les Mondes de Leïla Menchari, an exhibition which celebrated her vision at the Grand Palais, allowed a wider audience discover her unique and poetic universe.
Leïla Menchari has long been the driving force behind the House’s Colours Committee, leaving a legacy through her elegance and her extraordinary sense of nuance evident in the Women’s Silk collection.

Sandy dreams from the land of the pharaohs in 2005.

«Many of us at Hermès have learned a lot from Leïla. She taught us to look at the world through the prism of color. She was a storyteller without equal that enchanted the world. We are infinitely grateful to her for all that she has done for us, that she passed on to us», adds Pierre-Alexis Dumas.

Primary colors in 1982.

An open, generous, resolutely modern woman, she was a woman of freedom. Her passing leaves to all those who had the joy of knowing and working with her, on both sides of the Mediterranean, the memory of a perpetual quest for beauty, a boundless passion for creation and craftsmanship.

Rest in Peace, Leïla Menchari! Below you can enjoy more of her amazing creations that might inspire you to redecorate your home …

LoL, Sandra

Leïla working in the windows on a display.

Photos: © Hermès

Hermès, a house of objects since 1837, presents its sixteenth métier, Beauty, with its first collection, Rouge Hermès, devoted to the beauty of the lips. The Birkin of the lipsticks so to say…

«We approach this new métier in our own way, and with a great deal of pleasure. Hermès Beauty is part of who we are: a house where everything comes from creation, driven by artisans who seek to accompany the men and women of today with elegance, and with the integrity and au-thenticity that we represent. It is the quintessence of our affection for surprise and wonder, which embraces the object, its design, and the desire to be useful while inspiring dreams.»
Axel Dumas, CEO of Hermès

The fruit of design, research and development work initiated more than five years ago and di-rected by Agnès de Villers, CEO of Hermès Perfume & Beauty, in the spirit of excellence and the integration of know-how that characterises Hermès, Hermès Beauty is a collaborative creation under the aegis of Pierre-Alexis Dumas, artistic director of Hermès.

Pierre Hardy, creative director of Hermès jewellery and Hermès shoes, designed the object. Bali Barret, artistic director of the women’s universe and creative director of women’s silk, contributed her vision of femininity and colour, while Jérôme Touron, creative director of Hermès Beauty, transposed this vision into make-up. Their work on objects, materials, colours and gestures de-veloped freely through shared affinities and connections. Finally, Christine Nagel, Director of Hermès’ olfactory creation, gave this collection its fragrance.

Rouge Hermès lipsticks are Hermès objects in their own right, expressing all of the house’s principles in a small item of make-up. They share the same aesthetic of function as all Hermès objects.

«Our approach to beauty is fundamental. It is to reveal and highlight what is naturally there, with elegance, comfort and pleasure. I like the idea of Hermès as an intimate companion, revealing one’s deepest self. I associate Hermès’ beauty objects with self-fulfilment, with the colour of an individual’s personality,» asserts Pierre-Alexis Dumas.

Created from noble materials – lacquered, brushed and polished metal in black, white or permabrass gold – assembled by hand, the lipsticks are rechargeable and made to last.

As Pierre Hardy explains, «I love the simplicity of pure shapes that colours have the ability to animate. Intuitively, to become timeless, this object had to be able to morph, remain iconic, but stay fluid, be part of a connected sequence, and perpetually recognisable. A constant yet ever-changing object.»

The sensual and fine textures of the sticks deposit colour in a single stroke, with a matt or satin finish reminiscent of the house’s Doblis and Box leathers.

«Materials carry colour. They give it its strength and its subtlety. They give it a particular finish. At Hermès, colours travel. They are reinvented from one material to another,» states Jérôme Touron.

The house’s elegance, spirit and imagination are expressed in 24 hues, a sophisticated selection inspired by the métiers of Silk, with the infinite richness of its colour references (75,000 shades), and Leather (900 shades).

«Like a silk scarf gracing a woman’s neck that creates radiance and reveals her beauty, for Hermès Beauty we wanted to discover or rediscover the emotion of colour as a fundamental feminine trait,» explains Bali Barret. «At Hermès, colour is an irrational, intoxicating passion, a craftsmanship of nuances, an obsession with striking the right tone, and a language all of its own.»

The emblematic collection is accompanied by a twice-yearly limited edition of three colours.
As beautiful inside as they are on the outside, Rouge Hermès objects cultivate sensory appeal and attention to detail, right down to a miniature version of the famous orange box.
Other beauty objects accompany the lipstick and form the basis of a ritual: a lip care balm, Poppy lip shine, a universal lip pencil, and a lip brush in lacquered wood. A collection of leather accessories – cases and a moon mirror – invite movement.

Hermès Beauty will be enhanced with other objects, to be revealed every six months from September 2020, until a complete line of make-up is created.

The Rouge Hermès collection will be available from 4th March 2020 in selected Hermès stores and retail outlets in 35 countries.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Hermès

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