If you ask someone why they are learning French, the top three cultural reasons are because they like French fashion, food and movies. If you are part of the first category, you probably know that Hermès is a famous French producer of high quality good. What I didn’t know is that from 1837, the brand prides itself in working with very skilled craftsmen still based in Lyon, the once upon time capital of silk.

Yesterday, I got the opportunity to see one of Hermès exhibition presenting the different products and how they are from high quality saddles to bags. Take a guess, how long do you think it takes to make Hermes top product, the famous “carré Hermès” or square silk scarve? Almost two years! And that’s the reason why! 

First the brand chooses an artist to create an intricate, colorful and new design. Second stage is to break down the image in different frames which will be reproduced on screens.

Once each stage of the drawing is reproduced on screens another artist apply each layer of colors on white silk. The minimum number of layers is 14 with a maximum of 47! You can imagine why it takes two years from the idea to the making of these gorgeous silk scarves.

You might not have the 400+ euros to afford an Hermès scarve, but looking at some talented artists was a great experience.