The worlds of fashion and watchmaking often overlap, but nowhere more so than at Hermès. The brand got its introduction to the watch world in the 1920s, when its leather straps – made of the same supple leather used today for their famous Kelly bags – were sought out by a number of Swiss manufactures. Then, in 1978, the brand began producing its own timepieces as La Montre Hermès.
This year at Baselworld 2015, the brand added to its stable of emblematic models with the release of the new Slim d’Hermès family. Although we are accustomed to being presented with the results of months and years of hard work, we rarely get the opportunity to peek inside the creative process that leads to the creation of a new collection. Unveilings such as this appear, fully formed, like Dionysus from Zeus' thigh. However, this year at Baselworld, we had just such an opportunity; to hear, first-hand from its designers, about the creation of the new Slim d’Hermès collection, from the drawing board to the final product.
Philippe Delhotal, director of creation and development at La Montre Hermès: The Slim is the story of an encounter: an encounter between traditional watchmaking, the creativity of Hermès, and a graphic designer named Philippe [Apeloig]. At the start, with Pierre-Alexis [Dumas, the artistic director of Hermès], we thought about doing an extra-thin piece, because we had at our disposition an extra-thin movement. The first sketches were related to the case, for which we wanted a minimalist look, something simple. That’s the idea we really wanted for this product [overall].
Then, with the case finished, we told ourselves we must find a typography for the dial. If you look at Hermès collections like the Arceau or the Cape Cod, there’s always a particular writing. So when we discussed with Pierre-Alexis what kind of dial we would create for this piece, we realized we didn’t want to call upon a watch designer. We felt that we would not find, in a traditional watch designer, knowledge to create the typography.
Pierre-Alexis knew someone in Paris – Philippe – who had already worked with Hermès on a poster for the Arceau. So we met up with Philippe, to get to work on the dial.
Philippe Apeloig, graphic designer: I started with the idea that the watch has to be really thin. There were a few words that really guided me in the design process, and one of the words was light – just the word light. I thought that I could design a series of numbers based on one line…that has a few breaks. If you look at it very carefully, [the numbers] are not complete. That silent part has a meaning…it brings a very sensitive feeling of lightness. And obviously your eye completes the missing part of the numbers.
Also, I can tell you that for me it was a new experience; I never did something like that [before]. What was a real challenge was to design something in a very small scale, and numbers that are made to be read-able. That’s the dimension that I like to keep in my mind when I’m doing such a design: to be aware of the functionality, not do something that is only decorative, but to go to the real essence.
Philippe Delhotal: It’s worth noting that this is the first piece that was made completely in-house (aside from the hands) so it was much easier. It is much simpler to work with craftsmen within the family, rather than to work with external companies.
But this was only part of it, because a watch is not only the case, the leather strap – you also need the dial, the hands. And if everything is not proportional… The eye is like the focal lens on a camera. When you’re trying to take a picture, the lens is working to bring the object into focus, and when the object appears right, it stops. The creative process is a bit like that. When the product is not quite complete, it doesn’t look right.
Philippe Apeloig: There were some surprises for me. I designed the numbers in black and white, but I didn't realize for example that some watches will be made out of pink gold or other materials, and that can really change the aspect of it, but also make it accessible to different people, with different taste. I really like the fact that there’s a series; it’s like a family, but with small differences.
It’s really timeless. We tried not to match a trend, but to develop an object that goes beyond the very short time [span of trends]. We live in a society where everything is really zapping, with so much speed. You don’t pay any attention to objects or things surrounding us. This is a different way of designing objects: to focus on something that you would like to keep not for a few days, a few weeks, a few months, but for a long time.
To see more, including live pictures from Baselworld 2015, visit @valdejack on Twitter.
