Not just another accessory: Free exhibition at MBS unravels stories behind Hermes silk scarves

SINGAPORE – A Birkin or Kelly might be what first comes to mind when one thinks of Hermes. But for many actual customers, silk is the entry point into the French luxury house.

Price point aside, a scarf is where one can play with colour and storytelling, Mr Christophe Goineau, creative director of men’s silk, tells The Straits Times in an exclusive interview at the Hermes boutique in The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands on Oct 22.

“It’s very small yet can change an outfit completely. The scarf is made to reveal the crazy part or fantasy of our client. Hermes silk is how we offer our customers a way to express their fantasy,” adds the Frenchman.

Silk is also a good way to enter Hermes, he notes, as the same designs can later be found on watches, home objects and other accessories.

The French term “accessoire” is in fact not the best word for it, Mr Goineau laments, as it implies being not essential or important. “It is the opposite. It actually is more than important. It brings to Hermes this boldness, joy and fun.”

It is, hence, also silk that is the star of Hermes’ latest public exhibition in Singapore. From now until Nov 5 at the Marina Bay Sands Event Plaza, The Silky Way takes visitors on a poetic journey through its scarves, drawing them deeper into the stories behind each carre (French for “square”).

The showcase makes its debut in Singapore and is expected to travel to other locations that have yet to be confirmed.

The heart of the experience is a 20-minute short film animating six Hermes silk scarves. In an intimate dome, visitors lie on plush recliners to watch the intricate designs come to life overhead. From a constellation of stars to a quirky circus scene to an increasingly surreal vignette of life in Paris, the tale transports you into the universe of Hermes.

Outside, a silk gallery showcases some of the maison’s in-season scarves, given the art gallery treatment.

Go a little closer – into three private pods that unravel facets of select squares in unexpected ways: through music, a telescope and a cut-out book. Fitting whimsy for a fashion category that arguably gets the most creative liberties.

The women’s scarves department was started in 1937 and has remained a core pillar of the business, even if it pales in comparison to its leather goods category. In the brand’s latest sales report for the third quarter of 2025, Hermes reported a 4 per cent growth in its silk and textiles business.

Since the 1980s, Hermes has controlled its entire silk and textile production chain. It is what Mr Goineau believes gives the house an edge over its competitors.

From the raw materials to the design, and all the weaving, engraving and making of the silk screen in between, “we control 100 per cent of the steps in our workshop”, he says. “And it makes a big difference. Because at every single step, we can add the details we want.”

Quality is in the layering of details, he adds.

Now 59, he recalls how, when he first joined the brand as a fresh-faced 21-year-old, he had been surprised to learn about its obsession with quality. “I said, ‘Why are you talking about quality? We know that Hermes makes good quality. And you did it once, so you don’t have to work on it again.’”

One of the older artisans set him straight: Quality is an everyday effort, he was told. Any drop in consistency could one day hurt the product.

Now enlightened by his own tenure at the house, Mr Goineau acknowledges that at first glance, placed side by side with a competitor’s offerings, one might not be able to tell an Hermes silk apart. But over time you can, he says confidently.

“Quality is expressed through time.” Whether it is in how it feels, sits differently even after repeated wears and washes, or gets you compliments on the street, after wearing it a few months, a customer will understand, he adds.

“To be honest, an Hermes scarf is even nicer after a few years.”

Selecting the silks

Showcased at The Silky Way are 36 men’s and women’s scarves from the Spring/Summer 2025, Fall/Winter 2025 and Spring/Summer 2026 seasons. A Carre Stories wall of cards tells the stories of corresponding silks featured in the Silk Gallery.

They were curated to showcase the beauty of Hermes – “not the bestsellers”, says Mr Goineau.

“With this exhibition, it was to say how can we express that there is storytelling behind every scarf?” he adds, himself donning a navy cashmere-silk scarf with guitar prints, one of the featured carres in the show.

Consider him the gatekeeper, albeit a friendly one, to the silk designs you see in stores. Together with his counterpart of women’s silk, Ms Cecile Pesce, Mr Goineau oversees the silk creations and selects designers to collaborate with each season.

He personally replies to every cold e-mail from earnest artists submitting their portfolio for consideration. “It’s very important for me to answer to all, even if it’s mainly to say no.”

Sometimes he offers critiques, but gently so as not to crush self-esteem. “You can easily step on small flowers, but small flowers can make something very beautiful. So, you have to be very kind with all the people who are thinking of Hermes.”

The brand is “quite organic” in selecting who to work with. About 95 per cent of the artists are freelancers – spanning illustrators, sculptors, animators, street artists and other disciplines across 40 countries.

There are three main ways he sources artists. The first is from people e-mailing in to propose themselves. The second is from finding people he wants to work with – through Instagram, graduation shows at art schools and art fairs.

And the third is by serendipity – his favourite method. “It’s a very Hermes way of doing things; very organic. There is no hasard (French for ‘chance’ or ‘randomness’) in life.”

When the creative process with each designer begins, it is not guaranteed that his or her design will make it to the shop floor. Rather, it is an evolving conversation of sketches and dialogue that sometimes ends in parted ways; more often, it ends in a purchase.

The ideal situation is for the artist to bring to Hermes his or her own style and universe. “A good marriage is 50 per cent Hermes, 50 per cent the artist.”

Although privy to the brand’s annual theme a few years ahead, Mr Goineau does not relay it exactly to the artists so as not to limit their imagination.

Artists can also go to the private museum located above the Hermes flagship store, at 24 Faubourg Saint-Honore in Paris, to draw inspiration from the over 15,000 items from the personal collection of Emile-Maurice Hermes, the grandson of founder Thierry Hermes.

The final, unused drawings are stashed in a “fridge” to hibernate until it is their time to shine.

When the time comes, Mr Goineau dips into the fridge to select the best ones that align with the theme of the year to turn into scarves. Then comes the long process of selecting colourways – itself a sacred Hermes ritual given the house’s rich colour heritage, with 75,000 shades in its colour library – and sending them into production.

It takes almost two years to make a single scarf. Hermes releases two main scarf collections a year, for spring and autumn. The men’s and women’s collections are distinct, with each creative director working to ensure masculine and feminine do not overlap – whether in designs or fabric composition.

When putting together a collection, he curates a “balance of classic design, something modern and something a bit weird, strange or completely out-of-the-box”. The latter “may find few customers, but the few customers will be so happy that it makes me happy”, he says.

And even then, the final selection in every boutique differs. The buyer for every market and store has complete autonomy over what to bring in.

“One collection will live very differently in Asia, Europe, US”, making it a treat for customers to discover new products each time, says Mr Goineau.

Hermes is more a house of evolution than revolution, he adds. Instead of staging an overhaul each season, it aims to present freshness while remaining faithful to the customer. “There is fashion, and there is l’air du temps,” he says, borrowing from the French phrase that roughly translates to ‘fashionable at the moment’.

“We are current but we’re not looking to be high fashion like that.”

Looking ahead

Succession and retirement must be on his mind, given that his colleague, French designer Veronique Nichanian, recently announced her retirement after serving as artistic director of the menswear division for 37 years.

The two joined Hermes in the same year in 1987, and worked together closely on men’s creations.

They could inspect a seam or scrunch of fabric for 25 minutes, says Mr Goineau. “If someone were looking at Veronique and me working together, they would say we were crazy. Maybe nobody would notice the details, but it’s our job. It’s very emotional for me, but I’m so happy for her.”

Nichanian, 71, will take her final bow for Hermes in January 2026 as part of Paris Men’s Fashion Week.

Taking her place is an up-and-comer, 35-year-old Grace Wales Bonner. The English fashion designer’s appointment, announced on Oct 21, was a surprise to everyone – including Mr Goineau – and has set the industry abuzz.

It is history-making, as Wales Bonner, who runs her own eponymous menswear label, will be the first black woman to head a legacy luxury fashion house – a coveted top-dog position more conventionally occupied by white men.

“I’m very excited and pleased to welcome Grace,” says Mr Goineau, who has yet to meet her. “It’s a blank page, but from what I’ve seen, I think it’s going to be interesting and very nice.”

Their first project together will be the Fall/Winter 2027 collection shown on the runways in January 2027.

Until then, he has his hands full with next year’s silks. Four factors define his job: colour, size, design and material.

“This is my playground. If I slightly change size or colour, the possibilities are endless,” he says. “I’ve worked for Hermes for 38 years but when I retire, I will not have done 1 per cent of what could be done.”

Book It/The Silky Way

Where: Marina Bay Sands Event Plaza, 10 Bayfront Avenue
When: Until Nov 5, noon to 8.30pm
Admission: Free
Info:

hermes.com