Pretty In Pink Hermes
While I certainly covet art, I also covet a few items of clothing: vintage Louis Vuitton purse, Missoni sweaters, and a Hermes silk scarf. Not as if my life style warrants such treasures, but a little luxury never hurt a girl. The likelihood of coming across any of those at a thrift shop I would have said was close to nil. I will have to revise those odds, however as I scored this amazing work a few days back. For $1.00. I kid you not.
I’m realizing I have yet to discuss clothing as art – but i have always felt “clothing” is an artform. The designing of. The fabric and details of. The selecting and wearing of. There is art involved in each step, though our modern “disposable” society often forgets all that when grabbing cheap clothes at a box store. To make an article of top quality, there are designers, dyers, weaver, engravers, printers, sewers. I’m sure there are others, but you get the idea. This particular scarf was designed by a Vladimir Rybaltchenko (1939-2002), and made by Hermes of Paris in 1981.
It is known as the “Ich Dien” scarf, part of a series of The British Heraldry designed by Vladimir Rybaltchenko in 1969 and re-issued as a Limited Edition in 1981. It was in honor of the marriage of the Prince of Wales to Diana Spencer, and bears his coat of arms against the backdrop of Gothic architecture. The scarf depicts the coat of arms of “England (three lions)…of Ireland (a gold harp with silver strings), Scotland’s coat of arms, a lion in the upper right and at the center the Royal Badge of Wales.” The term “Ich Dien” is the motto of the Prince of Wales: I serve. (1)
I can’t bring myself to sell it – a common thing I do with treasures I find. But I have decided I will claim it as art and justify keeping it. (I should note hubby has literally never asked me to sell or get rid of art – sometimes when I replace things he will comment that the piece didn’t really work for him. But when “treasures” come home, he’ll often say “hit the bid”).
How did I come by this remarkable, limited edition, perfectly pink scarf?! I had stopped at my local thrift store and an employee was hanging recently received scarves for sale. We fell to talking as I browsed the scarves. Glancing down at the plastic bin she was pulling the scarfs from, the bright pink, and clearly silk, scarf winked at me. I reached in, pulled the darn thing out, and could hardly believe it was an ACTUAL HERMES SILK SCARF for $3.00 (I ended up paying $1.00 due to discounts). I didn’t look at it very closely, tucked it under my arm, visited with a few other employees, paid for my scarf and a few other little things (children’s book of course) and dashed to the car. I am still amazed.
The details of the piece are stunning. Turning to The Oracle, I learned more about the process. “Hermès relies on a global team of approximately 50 independent, freelance designers…to dream up its prints. Once a design has been chosen…it gets scanned into a computer where an artist outlines the design on a screen”. (2) After colors are chosen, there is a six-month engraving process where “Hermes engravers break the artist’s design down into unique films, one for each color contained within the design. As many as 47 different films may be created for a single scarf design.” (3) While the engravers are at work, “Brazilian silk is transported to France where the raw silk is woven into the silk used for the scarves. This weaving process can take up to three months. Craftsmen then mix pigments together and boil them to create the perfect colors for the design. Once the colors are prepared, the silk is stretched over a printing table and the screens are applied to the silk. One by one, each screen adds new color and pattern to the silk to build the final pattern. The colors are allowed to dry, then they are “fixed” into place with steam.” (3) This entire process, from start to finish, takes almost two years from design to scarf.
I did laugh, though, when researching the scarf, as the site detailing the heraldry had a reader comment from adguru1010: “Clearly the scarf held up better than the marriage!” I will wear the Hermes as I love the color pink, and take joy from the artistry of the work.
(1) (Details of the scarf spelled out here: a-closer-look-at-the-british-heraldry-limited-edition-ich-dien-hermes-scarf/ )
(2) https://www.harpersbazaar.com.sg/fashion/how-the-hermes-silk-scarf-is-made
(3) https://fashion.luxury/style/made-hermes-scarves/