Wanderland Exhibition, which opened at the weekend by The Dubai Mall's famous Fountain, offers a rare peek into the quietly conceptual world of French fashion house Hermès.
Despite producing the world’s two most famous handbags – the Birkin and the Kelly – and enjoying an unrivalled reputation for quality, Hermès has never been one to blow its own trumpet. Founded in 1837 as a maker of equestrian leather goods, the company has mushroomed in size to one valued at US$38.7 billion (Dh142.1bn) last year. Yet despite such proven commercial success, Hermès has consistently remained under the radar, away from the herd.
This insistence on individuality was arguably the brainchild of Emile-Maurice Hermès, the grandson of the founder, Thierry Hermès. After taking control of the company in the early 1900s, Emile spearheaded a creative transformation, adding clothing, bags and even silk scarves to the existing equestrian repertoire.
Wanderland, then, is an homage to Emile, his artistic curiosity and the French spirit of la flânerie – to dream freely.
Exhibition curator Bruno Gaudichon told The Independent: "The journey through Wanderland draws its coherence from two intrinsic elements of la flânerie: dreaming and freedom of spirit."
Drawing on the skills of Gaudichon – who is also curator of La Piscine-Musee d’Art et d’Industrie in France – and artist Hubert Le Gall as scenographer, the show is spread over 1,000 square metres and 11 different rooms. Eight artists, including Emirati graffiti artist Khalid Mezaina, have helped create the sets for each room, which are filled with 30,000 hand-picked items, many gleaned from the private museum of Emile-Maurice Hermès.
Entering via a walkway suspended over the water, the visitor is led through the rooms, which are joined by corridors evoking Parisian street scenes, complete with faux shopfronts. The rooms have walls covered in images of walking canes, or have windows cut into them at haphazard angles, with some even sliding off onto the floor. Details are everywhere, seen in ties looped casually over newspaper racks, or an artist’s palette tumbling out of a Hermès leather pouch. To add to the general sense of childish joy, one room even has a giant wooden wardrobe through which visitors are invited to clamber into the adjoining room.
One faux shop window has a surreal melange of a crash helmet swathed in fur, a car steering wheel, a vintage radio and even maps strewn across the floor. In the middle of this strange assortment, below a wheel barrow overflowing with leather, sits a vintage Kelly bag.
Another room has a table scattered with vintage collected items, including an Ethiopian wooden pillow, and tiny silver trinkets, all gathered around an early Hermès perfume bottle, tied with an orange ribbon. Another scene features The Cafe of Lost Objects, complete with bottles on the tables, as if waiting for customers to arrive.
The exhibition, taken as a whole, is a wondrous and charming journey, guiding the visitor through a landscape filled with familiar objects, but imbued with new life.
• Wanderland by Hermès is at The Dubai Fountain at The Dubai Mall until February 7; open from noon to midnight daily. Entry is free
smaisey@thenational.ae
