The story of Hermes and the man who bet on the possibility of his boyfriend. | feature

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PROLOGUE

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With Hermes,
I bet on my boyfriend's potential.
Man's story.

Interview with Christophe Goineau

The "Carré" is an indispensable part of the HERMÈS brand.
Nearly a century after its birth, the scarf measures 90 centimeters square,
It has attracted many women by carrying various colors and patterns.
This was proposed to men by Veronique Nishanian and Christophe Gowanow.
They are the driving force behind the discovery of unlimited possibilities on the blank canvas of men's silk.
'When the day comes that I finish this job, all my wishes will not be fulfilled.'
When I asked Christophe what he really meant, I was able to see a part of the world they depict at "Hermes".

Photo : Kazuma Yamano
Edit : Ryo Muramatsu

Introduction :.

In mid-October of this year, the "WHY KNOT ? dinner, a one-night-only event, was held in mid-October this year at the former Furukawa Residence, a Western-style house in Kita-ku, Tokyo. The dinner was designed to introduce the guests to the world of Hermès' men's silk products, and Christophe Goynaud, who came to Japan from France, served as the host.

In case you are wondering, silk products at Hermès are one of the most iconic items, along with saddles and small leather goods. The history of silk products goes back as far as 1937, when the square scarf "Carré" was created as a new proposal by the Maison, and in 1949, a necktie was created to meet the dress code for men going to casinos.

When Christophe joined the company in 1987, silk products were already one of the faces of the Maison. In 2011, he was appointed creative director of the men's silk department, expanding the possibilities of this product entrusted to him by Hermès. He has been working in the leather goods and equestrian, men's and women's ready-to-wear, jewelry, and other areas. He is one of the heads of the 16 product divisions of Hermès, known as "metiers".

Profile :.

Christophe Gowanneau.

In 1987, at the young age of 21, he joined Hermès. After pursuing the creation of men's silk products, he was appointed creative director of the department in 2011. He is such a music lover that he cannot go a day without listening to music, and among Japanese artists, he loves the works of Ryuichi Sakamoto. This is his 15th visit to Japan.

Keyword :.

The passion of the people pushed me,
A new world that knocked on the door.

Mr. Kristof, I heard that you have been with Hermes for about 40 years. Why did you join the company in the first place?: Christophe: Actually, I did not request to work at Hermès on my own, but rather visited there as part of a training program at the school I attended as a student.

There I met people who were full of passion and gave that passion to me. I wondered why they were so passionate about their work, regardless of whether it was silk or leather products, and I wanted to find out. Of course, at the time I didn't think I would work there for such a long time (laughs).
In today's fashion industry, it is commonplace for people to move to other companies or become independent. In such an environment, it is rare to find a person who stays with the same maison and pursues the potential of a single product for many years.: Christophe: I learned here that metier = work, that it becomes a passion. It's a wish, a desire to make something better.

I think this goes back to Japan and "Hermes," where calligraphers spend their lives continually searching for the perfect gesture. Perfection that we know we will never have. It is the same with Hermès; we continue to seek the better with our passion. Even with my silk products, if I tried to do all the ideal motifs and colors, I would never be able to do it.

The artist's signature in small letters on the "Kare" graphic.

Christophe explains "Calais."

I heard that Hermès has created more than 75,000 colors for its silk products. From these colors, colorists select the ones that match the motifs one by one, and craftsmen in Lyon print them with different ink formulas. It is a tremendous job just to think about it. When was the "Carré" that Christophe wrapped today?: Christophe: This is a new piece for this season. The graphic was created by Ewan Mesa, a young designer who studied architecture at the Swiss School of Design. When you unfold it, you can see the unique graphic structure of the letters "HERMÈS" as if they were buildings.

This is an example of how free Hermès creations are. I would not accept a proposal to make a "Carré" with "HERMÈS" in the middle.

Carre H 100 "Hermès Optical Perspective".

Type

100 x 100 cm
Material

Cashmere 70 %,.
Silk 30 %
Price

¥166,100

Graphics expressed in perspective to create a three-dimensional effect. The unique design features an arrangement of the letters "HERMÈS." This is a different color from the personal item that Christophe was wearing at the time of the interview, and it is 1 meter square in size, designed for men.

Where did you meet this designer?: Christophe: It is a place to present his school's graduation project. There are three ways to meet artists. The first is when the artist makes an offer, the second is when I call on them, and the last is by chance. The last is by chance, where a friend tells me about the artist, or we meet through some other chance.
I think there are a lot of approaches under Mr. Kristof. Which of these artists do you find appealing?: Christophe: When we receive proposals for work from the artists' side, we always look over all of them. Then I write back to all of them. This is because no one knows what unexpected things will happen in the future.

What is especially important is that they have a different point of view from ours. Adding each artist's world view to "Hermès" brings different values and enriches the Maison. Even if a person's personality seems a bit distant from Hermès, if we can find some connection, we will make an appointment to meet with them.

Christophe explains "Calais."

Keyword :.

Conversations with the three key players.

Hermès also has a women's silk department. Do you communicate with Cécile (Note 1), who is in charge of that department?: Christophe: I am good friends with Cecile, so we often have conversations where she tells me that she will make something like this for women's wear, and I tell her that I will do this for men's wear. I want to have a completely different vision for men's and women's silk products, but it is the customer who will pick it up and make the final decision. I think it would be wonderful for men to pick up the ladies' products and for women to pick up the men's products. Note 1...Cecile Pess, Creative Director of the Women's Silk Division since 2020.
On the other hand, you are required to collaborate with Mr. Veronique (Note 2), who has headed the men's ready-to-wear department for many years, in terms of creating collections.: Christophe: In the first step of production, we listen to Veronique's ideas for the collection. She has a clear vision, so together we look at designs that have not yet been released to the public and the archives, and begin to select artists who can work with Veronique's ideas. We have a free form relationship, so we talk about many things. Note 2...Veronique Nishanian, who has headed the men's department of Hermès for nearly 37 years. After this interview, it was announced that he will step down from his position as artistic director after the collection to be presented in January next year.

So that's how you are going to proceed.: Christophe: When the men's collection is finished, I always check it with Veronique and Pierre-Alexis (Note 3). Each model, each color. Then we listen to each other's opinions, making changes and sometimes removing them. It's quite a lot, but there is nothing that we don't look over. This is an important discussion where we each voice our opinions while taking our time to make sure we are doing the right thing. Note 3...Pierre-Alexis Dumas. His father is Jean-Louis Dumas, the fifth president of Hermès, and he is the artistic director in charge of all departments.

Carre H 80 "Grand Manege"

Type

77.5 x 77 cm
Material

Silk 100 %
Price

¥81,400

Henri Doligny was in charge of the graphics. He is also famous for his longtime work on Hermès products. Inspired by horseback riding, the curves and spirals of this piece dance on the silk. The fringed edges were hand-applied.

So that's how you are going to proceed.: Christophe: When the men's collection is finished, I always check it with Veronique and Pierre-Alexis (Note 3). Each model, each color. Then we listen to each other's opinions, making changes and sometimes removing them. It's quite a lot, but there is nothing that we don't look over. This is an important discussion where we each voice our opinions while taking our time to make sure we are doing the right thing. Note 3...Pierre-Alexis Dumas. Pierre-Alexis Dumas is the father of Jean-Louis Dumas, the fifth president of Hermès, and is the artistic director in charge of all departments.

Carre H 65 "AWOOOOO! Bandana"

Type

65 x 65 cm
Material

Cashmere 70 %,.
Silk 30 %
Price

¥81,400

Depicted on one of the bandana motifs is a wolf howling on a moonlit night. The wolf is actually an arrangement of a work released in 2018. Alice Shirley, who created the graphics, is known for her animal motifs.

These hands have produced a number of men's silk products.

Pierre-Alexis, you are also in charge of deciding the annual theme, which is indispensable to the current Hermes brand. What did you think when you first heard about this year's theme "Drawing"?: Christophe: (holding his head) Wow, I'm in trouble! Drawing is what I've been doing all my life. How can I interpret it in a new way and derive something out of it? I thought.

In the end, however, we proceeded in the same way as we have done up to now in creating the collection. For the non-silk division, the word "drawing" may bring up all kinds of interesting ideas, but for silk products, there is an aspect of design = drawing or sketching, and for us, it is a clue to expand our color palette. After all, it is our everyday life.
In a large maisons, you have been doing this for many years. You have been doing this for many years within a large maison, but could you tell us about the most epoch-making product you have worked on so far?: Christophe: It's a one-meter square carré. This was the result of many, many discussions with Veronique about what would be the ideal silk product for a man to use. We came up with the size, form, color, design, and materials from scratch. I am proud of the product that was born, and I am proud that after working with Veronique, we were able to create a product that gives a sense of the essence of "Hermes".

editorial postscript Editor's note

Christophe was cute and friendly, showing no signs of fatigue from his visit to Japan. I was quite prepared for him to be rude, but I needn't have worried. We spent an hour with Christophe, and it was easy to understand why he has been loved and active for so many years in the big maisons. He told us that he has recently been into music by the French band Astels.

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