Fashion’s new shelter in Normandy – preserving traditions while building an ethical future

The new site of Hermès Leather Good & Saddlery division will open in 2022 – the building will be made only of bricks and wood, and its shape will grant the artisans natural light

The new site of Hermès Leather Good & Saddlery division opens in Normandy in 2022

In times littered with challenges like climate change and economic crisis, Hermès is fighting to provide a safe haven where tradition can be preserved without hurting the environment. The new site of Hermès Leather Good & Saddlery division, opening in Normandy in 2022, will be another step in the twofold policy adopted by the company: protecting the know-how developed by local artisans while caring for the local ecosystem.

The recent projects of Hermès are opposed to the methods adopted by fast food fashion: against production schedules nor caring for the workers nor for our planet, the Maroqiuenerie De Louviers will be completely mindful of both, starting with its architecture. The building, designed by the French-Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh and the Belgian landscape architect Erik Dhont, will be made only of bricks and wood, and its shape will grant the artisans a great deal of natural light, both minimizing the use of artificial lights and improving the quality of their work.

Trees maintain the biodiversity

The trees uprooted in the construction site will be retained for the gardens, maintaining the biodiversity of the site, while Dhont’s work will employ modern non-invasive techniques for capturing and redirecting water, dampening the risk of wasting resources. Perfectly fitting into the landscape, the building will merge with its surroundings thanks to his rust like tint, diffusing a soft glow at night at odds with our cities’ light emissions.

Caring for the world also means caring for humans, their traditions and their culture: following its long-established creed, Hermès plans on preserving the legacy of generations of leather workers, keeping their craft relevant through the products bearing its mark, a synonym of beauty, excellence and durability but also a banner of years and years of French craftsmanship.

The Maroquinerie de Louviers

Fundamental in preserving traditions are the various partnerships with local institutions like the Louviers employment agency, who recruit new artisans capable of embrace and evolve tradition, or the Haras national du Pin, who trains them from newbies to professionals. The Maroquinerie de Louviers is a further step in Hermès’ ever-growing number of leather goods and saddlery production sites scattered in France, adding to other nine workshops and grating jobs to 3,800 artisans. While newer brands try to sell great volumes of low-quality wares, Hermès is willing to keep up his banner, synonym of quality, care and, uttermost, a tradition of French craftsmanship that refuses to bow down in front of the challenges of our present.

Gregorio Zanacchi Nuti