Hermès Turns on the Lights

The Hermès en lumiére collection is the latest addition to the French luxury brand’s home décor line, Hermès Maison. The collection is comprised of three new lamps: the Nomade, the Pantographe, and the Harnais. Each lamp has LED technology and is sheathed in Hermès’s famously elegant leather enhanced by saddle stitching, tacks, and clasps. The source for the leather covering came from the lamps that equipped the company’s workshops in the 1930s. The leather protected the lamp bases, provided durability, and ensured that the lamps would be handed down to the next generation of craftsmen. These goals continue to be achieved with the introduction of Hermès’s three new lamps.

The French lighting artist Yann Kersalé, who is known for his large-scale installations, found inspiration in the iconic shape and steady beam of light emitted from lighthouses for the Nomade. The Nomade is a modular light that can be separated into four individual lanterns; it is equipped with a rechargeable battery, which permits it to be used indoors or on covered porches in warmer weather.

The Pantographe and the Harnais lamps are designed by Italian architect and theorist Michele de Lucchi. He was a member of Ettore Sottsass’s team of designers in the 1980s and learned from the Memphis leader that “in order not to throw away an object you have to fall in love with it…to keep it as long as possible.” Lucchi’s admiration for finely crafted, durable objects is demonstrated by his designs of the Pantographe and the Harnais lamps. The Pantographe, its shape and name derived from an architect’s drawing tool, comes as a desk lamp and in two variations of standing lamps. The Harnais is based on Hermès’s renowned equestrian equipment of harnesses and crops and is available as a floor lamp and a large or small table lamp. The Hermès en lumiére collection reflects the brand’s graceful design, harmonious proportions, and intelligent function. hermes.com