Les Formes de la couleur by Hermès Jewellery Mesmerises
In Les Formes de la couleur, Pierre Hardy, Creative Director of Hermès Jewellery, masterfully exhibits a spectrum of shades in different forms
A profusion of shapes and colours mingle, with seemingly indefinite permutations, in the high jewellery of Hermès’ Les Formes de la couleur. This bold, unique and kaleidoscopic take on hues, forms and emotions is exactly what Creative Director of Hermès Jewellery, Pierre Hardy wished for the collection. “I wanted to find a way to express this fundamental phenomenon of colour at Hermès and build a strong, autonomous and independent identity,” he says.
The creative director describes the impetus for his experimentation with hues thus: “I learned about the theories of colour during my art degree, and I re-immersed myself in them with passion and method to develop this collection. This theoretical study develops a hierarchy of colours (primary, secondary and tertiary), envisaging their relationships, complementarities and temperature. Some pieces are based on these theories and lead to more narrative explorations.” He adds, “The combination of a colour and a shape sets the mind thinking: If red is square, what is that square saying? If yellow is triangular, the mind could fleetingly visualise the symbol on a superhero’s outfit, for example, or it could be linked to other memories, such as of a work of art, an album cover, a piece of architecture, or a feeling.”
Yes, shapes are certainly another star of the collection. In the Color Vibes chapter, for instance, curved and asymmetrical silhouettes are contrasted with precious stones in classic cuts, such as baguette-cut tanzanite or emerald-cut emerald. And in Color Icons, jewellery pieces take the form of Hermès favourites — think a high jewellery twist on the Kelly bracelet and an almost completely jewelled little bag.
As complicated as the theories of colour that inspired Hardy may sound, in the end, if we must understand just one thing, his goal is for this high jewellery collection to convey the unbridled joy and freedom of Hermès. “I wanted to express a lot of ideas at the same time. It’s possible to want different things all at once. However, I wasn’t trying to use colour to unite a range of heterogeneous objects. Quite the opposite, in fact. The exploration of colour has produced extremely rich and extraordinarily diverse results. Rather than stifling this diversity I wanted to pay tribute to it and give it every opportunity to resonate and flourish. I have not sought to restrict, but rather to allow,” he says.
