THE SILK ROAD TO LYON

Behind the luxe Hermès name stands a very solid philosophy of uncompromising quality. A visit to the facilities of Holding Textile Hermès (HTH) in Lyon was a privilege, allowing us to witness the numerous, meticulous steps in the production of its iconic silk scarf.

Lyon is the historical capital of the French silk industry. Today in Lyon, only Hermès uses the traditional Lyonnaise (serigraphy) method, with artisans of passionate and dedicated discipline working lovingly to produce every piece.

Raw silk thread comes from Brazil, from the Bombyx Mori butterflies whose cocoons must be of exactly the same size. White silk “hair” of the highest quality is put together in a flotte (skeins of raw silk), which are then shipped to Lyon. From this point forward, only HTH handles the production process until the finished products are delivered to Paris for distribution.

How many hairs make up a single thread

Did you know that an Hermès scarf takes at least two years from the artwork to the finishing?

to be woven into the silk cloth? That’s a trade secret. While the designs to be used are decided upon in Paris, production is actually a refined science executed by the combined eyes, hands and hearts of the Hermès artisans in Lyon.

Under the leadership of Pierre-Alexis Dumas, artistic director of Hermès, designs for scarves are selected from works of different artists. Dumas is the great grandson of Emile Hermès and represents the sixth generation of the family. With him and Bali Barret, Women’s Universe creative director, are engravers, colorists, printers, seamstresses — all expertly skilled in their fields.

The artwork itself is never altered, paying utmost respect to the artist, but the colors are carefully selected to suit the ambiences (color schemes) defined for the spring/summer and fall/winter seasons. Colorists select from a library of 75,000 colors and present different color palettes for approval.

A scarf’s design initially goes into an engraving process that defines each color, complete with all its gradations. This could require an average of 30 colors or more, applied on the silk cloth with screens. The number of colors equals the number of screens.

The scarves are laid out and glued on a 150-meter-long printing bed, where screens apply each color to 150 scarves at a time. Even more processes follow: fixing the colors by steam cooking at 106 degrees Celsius for an hour; washing, drying, cutting; and hem rolling.

These silk pieces are finished by hand — all by hand. These admirable ladies, with their skillful fingers, finish each scarf with a rolled hem — the roulotte — using a matching silk thread and rolling the ends of the slippery silk fabric from back to front, paying strict attention to the corners. One skilled artisan finishes a scarf in 45 minutes, but she has been working in the atelier for over 20 years.

A group of trusted staff, with the sharpest eyes and the most sensitive hands, oversees quality control for no less than100 percent of production. The tiniest dot caused by a dust on the screen, the smallest deviation from the perfect square (the name “carré” stubbornly insists that it be so), or an error in the stitching causes the piece to be rejected. There are no compromises here, no second best. Only the flawless scarves are shipped out to Paris, and, from there, to boutiques worldwide.

But not before each item goes through a metal detector, in case a wayward pin, which could hurt a customer, is hiding somewhere.

An Hermès scarf takes a minimum of two years from the execution of the artwork to the finishing. It requires continuous coordination among the people of every department to do this, since each step depends on the step that came before it — much like a symphony being performed.

Every time you allow an Hermès scarf to caress your neck, please remember that creativity, time, skill, passion and dedication made it possible, this silken gem of “utility and elegance.”

*** In the Philippines, Hermès scarves are exclusively available at the Hermès store in Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati.

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(Photo from Studio de Fleurs) Forty-two colors, meaning 42 screens, were used to print the very intricate details of Parures de Samourai, If the average scarf takes two years from artwork to actual product, this scarf took three years!

(Photo by Kai Jünemann.) Designs are oftentimes playful, always colorful. “Color is what dresses the Hermès carré. Its printed form changes countenance by changing color. It’s fascinating.” –Bali Barret, artistic director of women’s silk.

(Photo from Studio de Fleurs) In 1937, Robert Dumas, Pierre-Alexis Dumas’ grandfather, produced the very first 90cm x 90cm silk “carré” (square scarf ) called feu des omnibus et Dames blanches, celebrating the inauguration of the Paris public omnibus line from Madeleine to Bastille.

(Photo by Yves Duronsoy) “Color is the secret of the success of the Hermès scarf. In the ‘kitchens’ of Atelier AS near Lyon, pigments and vegetable gums mix in subtle harmonies.” Leila Menchari, director of window displays for 24 Faubourg Saint-Honoré and director of the Color...

(From “Carrés Behind the Scenes,” photo by Vincent Leroux, ) The engraver interprets the nuances of each design and traces each color, one by one, on a transparent film. A design broken up into 30 colors requires 400 to 600 hours of engraving.

(Photo by Vincent Leroux) Many more disciplined processes are done after printing: fixing the colors by steam cooking at 106 degrees centigrade for an hour, washing, drying, cutting, and hem rolling.

(Photo by Yves Duronsoy) Hermès has 75,000 colors in its library. The design of a scarf has an average of 30 colors but the product itself comes in di erent ambiences (color schemes), each with its own combination of 30 colors.

(Photo by Vincent Leroux) Only in Lyon are the scarves produced -- weaving, engraving, coloration, printing, hemming-- with strict, obsessive adherence to quality. One printing bed is 150 meters long and produces 150 scarves at a time.