Hermès, officially Hermès International S.A., is a French luxury goods manufacturer and one of the most prestigious maisons in the world. Founded in Paris in 1837 by Thierry Hermès, the company originally operated as a workshop specialising in horse harnesses and saddlery. Nearly two centuries later, Hermès has expanded its portfolio to include handbags, silk, clothing, shoes, jewellery, watches, perfumes, beauty products, furniture, tableware, and other lifestyle items, while maintaining craftsmanship and its equestrian origins as central pillars of its identity.1

Unlike many large luxury conglomerates, Hermès remains an independent, family-backed company. Its business philosophy is anchored in three core concepts: creation, craftsmanship, and an exclusive distribution network. As of 2025, the group comprised 16 métiers, employed 26,494 people, operated 63 production and training sites in France, and maintained 294 stores worldwide.2

The financial figures above are derived from the latest published full-year results; first-half 2026 results subsequently reported revenue of €8.163 billion and 27,107 employees.3

Hermès was established by Thierry Hermès, a harness maker who opened his workshop in Paris in 1837. His original speciality was not fashion but high-quality equipment for horses, particularly harnesses and saddlery.

This origin is fundamental to understanding the modern Hermès brand. The company’s dedication to leather, precision, durability, and functional design stems directly from the exacting requirements of equestrian craftsmanship. Thierry Hermès’s products combined delicacy with strength, earning recognition at the 1867 Universal Exhibition in Paris.4

Hermès did not begin as a fashion brand but as an artisan workshop, a distinction that continues to influence the company today.

In 1880, Thierry’s son Charles-Émile Hermès relocated the business to 24 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris. This address eventually became one of the most famous locations in luxury fashion.

The new premises allowed Hermès to sell and produce custom-made harnesses and saddles, while its reputation grew among wealthy European clientele.5 Today, 24 Faubourg Saint-Honoré serves as a physical symbol of the house itself.

During the early 20th century, the automobile began replacing the horse as the primary mode of transport, posing a potential existential challenge for a company whose core business was equestrian equipment. Rather than abandoning its craftsmanship, Hermès adapted it.

Under Émile Hermès, the company shifted towards travel goods, bags, and leather accessories. A significant development occurred in 1922, when Émile Hermès secured exclusive rights to an American fastening system that became the zipper. Hermès subsequently incorporated this technology into its luggage and leather goods.6

This period established a defining characteristic of Hermès: tradition combined with adaptation. The company preserved its craftsmanship while evolving its product offerings to suit changing lifestyles.

A major turning point arrived with Robert Dumas, Émile Hermès’s son-in-law, who became head of the company in 1951. Dumas was responsible for several iconic Hermès creations, including:

• The silk scarf
• The Kelly bag
• The Chaîne d’Ancre bracelet
• Significant developments in leather goods

The Chaîne d’Ancre bracelet, for example, was inspired by the shape of a ship’s anchor chain.7 This illustrates a recurring Hermès design principle: ordinary functional objects can serve as sources of luxury design.

The Kelly is one of Hermès’s two most renowned handbags. Its origins predate its name; Robert Dumas designed the trapezoidal handbag in the 1930s.

The bag achieved international fame in the 1950s through Grace Kelly, the Hollywood actress who became Princess of Monaco. A famous photograph depicted Grace Kelly carrying the bag, and the association between the princess and the handbag became so strong that Hermès officially named it the Kelly.8

Consequently, the Kelly represents a convergence of Hermès craftsmanship, Parisian artistry, royal glamour, and timeless design.

If the Kelly represents one facet of Hermès, the Birkin represents another. The Birkin was created in 1984 following a chance encounter between Jean-Louis Dumas, then head of Hermès, and British actress and singer Jane Birkin on a flight between Paris and London.

According to Hermès’s own history, the two discussed the difficulty of finding an ideal everyday bag that was both large and elegant. Dumas subsequently sketched a design for her.9 The resulting handbag became the Birkin.

Its appeal derives from a combination of exceptional leather craftsmanship, relatively limited availability, extensive handwork, distinctive construction, strong historical associations, cultural prestige, and long-term desirability. The Birkin has since become one of the most recognisable symbols of luxury globally.

Although Hermès is particularly famous for handbags, the company’s scope is far broader. Its 16 métiers include:10

1. Leather goods and equestrian
2. Women’s silk
3. Men’s silk
4. Women’s ready-to-wear
5. Men’s ready-to-wear
6. Shoes
7. Belts
8. Hats
9. Gloves
10. Jewellery
11. Watchmaking
12. Perfumes
13. Beauty
14. Furniture and art de vivre
15. Tableware
16. petit h

Hermès is therefore best understood as a luxury house of craftsmanship rather than solely a handbag company.

The Hermès silk carré is another fundamental element of the brand. Introduced in the 1930s, the carré eventually became one of the company’s signature products.

Hermès scarves are renowned for intricate illustrations, elaborate colour combinations, silk twill fabric, equestrian references, historical and cultural imagery, and collectible designs. The company treats the scarf almost as a portable piece of art.

The scarf also demonstrates a key difference between Hermès and conventional fashion brands: Hermès often approaches its products through craft, illustration, and object design, rather than merely seasonal fashion trends.

Even after expanding into fashion and lifestyle products, Hermès has never abandoned its original equestrian identity. The company continues to manufacture saddles, bridles, riding accessories, equestrian clothing, and horse-related leather goods.

Horses, harnesses, chains, and riding motifs appear repeatedly in the visual language of Hermès. The original business is not merely historical decoration but remains an active part of the company’s operations.

The Orange Packaging

One of the most recognisable visual characteristics of Hermès is its orange packaging. The orange boxes and bags are now strongly associated with the brand. Interestingly, the colour became prominent due to wartime shortages: Hermès’s traditional cream-coloured packaging materials became difficult to obtain, and orange packaging was adopted instead. Over time, what began as a practical solution evolved into an iconic part of the brand identity.

The Logo

The Hermès logo depicts a horse-drawn carriage with a groom standing beside it, reflecting the company’s origins as a harness maker. Significantly, the logo does not primarily communicate handbags, clothing, or cosmetics; instead, it conveys heritage, horses, craftsmanship, and service, acting as a historical signature.

Hermès occupies a distinct position within the luxury industry. Its competitive philosophy relies less on rapid fashion turnover and more on specific pillars:

Craftsmanship

Many Hermès products require substantial manual work by highly trained artisans.

Longevity

The company explicitly describes its products as objects designed to last, acquire patina, and potentially be passed from one generation to another.11

Scarcity

Some of its most desirable products are difficult to obtain, which contributes to their allure.

Controlled Distribution

Hermès maintains a predominantly directly operated retail network. According to the company, more than 92% of its revenue comes through its own distribution channels.12

Independence

Unlike brands such as Louis Vuitton and Dior, which belong to LVMH, Hermès remains an independent family-backed company.13

The company’s history has been shaped by six generations of leadership. After Thierry Hermès, management passed through his descendants and family connections, including Thierry Hermès, Charles-Émile Hermès, Émile Hermès, Robert Dumas, Jean-Louis Dumas, and Axel Dumas.

Axel Dumas, a member of the sixth generation, has led the company since 2013.14 This family continuity is one of the most significant differences between Hermès and many other global luxury companies.

Jean-Louis Dumas and Globalisation

Jean-Louis Dumas, who led Hermès from 1978 to 2006, played a pivotal role in transforming Hermès into a global luxury house. Under his leadership, Hermès expanded beyond traditional leather goods into ready-to-wear, watches, shoes, jewellery, fragrances, and home products.

He helped maintain the company’s emphasis on creativity, preventing it from becoming simply a traditional leather-goods manufacturer. Hermès’s own history describes this period as one in which the house diversified and expanded internationally.15

As of 2026, Hermès is a global luxury company with a significant international presence while maintaining a strong French manufacturing base. At the end of 2025, it recorded:

• €16.002 billion in annual revenue
• €6.569 billion in recurring operating income
• €4.524 billion in net profit attributable to the group
• 26,494 employees
• 294 stores worldwide16

The company’s production model remains unusually concentrated in France. Hermès states that 75% of its objects were made in France in 2025, while all of its leather goods were produced domestically.17 In 2025, the company also opened its 24th leather-goods workshop in France at L’Isle-d’Espagnac.18

The simplest way to understand the Hermès philosophy is: make fewer things, make them exceptionally well, and make them last. The company describes its strategy around three pillars: Creation → Craftsmanship → Distribution.

Its stated values include freedom of creation, exceptional craftsmanship, authenticity, quality, innovation, responsible growth, and transmission of savoir-faire. Hermès also organises its creative universe around an annual theme. For 2026, the house’s theme is “L’appel du large” (“Call of the Open Sea”), which provides inspiration across its different métiers.19

The sustainability philosophy of Hermès is closely connected to durability. Instead of positioning sustainability primarily around disposable “eco-fashion,” Hermès emphasises durable products, repair services, responsible materials, traceability, transmission of craftsmanship, long product lifetimes, and local manufacturing.

Its integrated production model affords greater control over materials and manufacturing. Hermès reports that 55% of production was carried out in internal and exclusive workshops in 2025.

Hermès does not define itself solely through fashion. While fashion traditionally emphasises novelty, seasonality, trends, and replacement, Hermès prioritises craft, function, quality, longevity, and heritage.

This does not mean Hermès ignores fashion; it produces ready-to-wear collections and participates in the fashion calendar. However, the brand’s identity is broader. A Hermès scarf from decades ago can remain culturally relevant, and a Kelly or Birkin from an earlier period still looks unmistakably like Hermès today. This is why the house is often described as a luxury maison rather than simply a fashion label.

Hermès has become a symbol of extreme luxury, but its cultural significance extends beyond price. The brand represents several ideas simultaneously:

• French craftsmanship: Its identity is deeply associated with Paris and French artisanal traditions.
• Exclusivity: Certain products are difficult to obtain, reinforcing the perception of scarcity.
• Quiet luxury: Many Hermès products are recognisable primarily through materials, construction, and subtle design rather than prominent logos.
• Heritage: The company traces its identity directly back to a 19th-century artisan workshop.
• Investment and collectability: Certain handbags, scarves, jewellery, and watches have developed strong collector communities.
• Status: The Birkin and Kelly, in particular, have become cultural shorthand for extraordinary wealth and luxury.

It is useful to distinguish between the house’s two most iconic bags:

Both bags embody the brand’s larger philosophy: a functional object transformed into an enduring luxury icon.

Perhaps the single most important word associated with Hermès is savoir-faire—the accumulated knowledge and skill required to make something exceptionally well. This encompasses selecting materials, cutting, stitching, polishing, metalworking, silk printing, watchmaking, jewellery making, shoemaking, saddle making, perfume creation, and furniture making. Hermès operates more like a network of specialised crafts than a single conventional fashion production line.

Creative Structure

Hermès maintains a broad creative structure rather than relying on one celebrity designer to define the entire brand. Pierre-Alexis Dumas serves as the house’s artistic director, while different creative directors oversee individual métiers such as women’s ready-to-wear, men’s ready-to-wear, silk, shoes, jewellery, watches, perfume, and home.20

This decentralised creative structure helps explain why Hermès can simultaneously produce a handbag, scarf, watch, perfume, piece of furniture, and riding saddle while maintaining a cohesive universe.

Hermès is a Parisian luxury house founded as an equestrian workshop in 1837 that transformed exceptional craftsmanship, functional design, and family heritage into one of the world’s most powerful symbols of enduring luxury. Crucially, the luxury of Hermès does not begin with the price tag but with the company’s original idea: make something exceptionally well, make it useful, make it beautiful, and make it last. This philosophy has remained remarkably consistent from Thierry Hermès’s horse harnesses in 1837 to the Birkin bags, silk scarves, watches, perfumes, and contemporary objects of 2026.

1. Six générations d’artisan | Hermès France
2. Hermès, artisan contemporain depuis 1837 | Hermès France
3. Rapport d’activite 2025 Activity report 2025 L
4. Strategy | Hermès Finance
5. Key figures | Hermès Finance
6. Sac Kelly | Hermès France
7. Six generations of artisans | Hermès USA
8. La liberté de création | Hermès France
9. Stratégie | Hermès Finance
10. Un développement responsable et durable | Hermès France
11. Hermès financial information | Hermès Finance
12. Hermès Informations Financières | Hermès Finance
13. Share and dividend | Hermès Finance
14. HERMES | HERMES INTERNATIONAL
15. | HERMES Hermes_URD_2025 2025 | HERMES INTERNATIONAL
16. Group management – Hermès Finance | Hermès Finance
17. Welcome | HERMES URD 2024 | HERMES INTERNATIONAL
18. Your Guide to the Top 10 Hermès Bags | Handbags & Fashion | Sotheby’s
19. DISCOVER HERMÈS TOPANGA | Hermès USA
20. Histoire & Héritage – Hermes Créations