Hermes Festival des Metiers - London

The Hermes Festival des Metiers roadshow came to London a few weeks ago and I popped to London to see it.  It was held at the Saatchi Gallery just off the Duke of York Square in Sloane Square/Chelsea and at the same time as the Chelsea Flower Show.  The shops around the area were all decked out with floral arrangements for the Flower Show and they were so pretty I wish to share the pictures in the post with the Hermes show.  The weather was very hot and inside the gallery was like an oven so I did not stay too long as it was very busy and hot.  I think Hermes were were taken aback by how many people visited the show- but it had been mentioned in the Mail on Sunday so there you go......

Mary Quant!

An M Q floral dress!

Liz Earle

Massimo Dutti

Very exotic flowers were used here......

.....Including these fab Gloriosa Lilies!

The Gallery Entrance.

Inside the gallery at the show's entrance.

Even the floor got an Hermes makeover!

A workbench.

One of the pieces.

Some of the ready to wear in progress.

The various stages of painting a dish.

The beginnings - basically an outline....

...which is gradually built up layer by colour layer....

Recognise him?!

One of the many screens around the show.

At scarf printing table - the female Indian 
scarf has the most number of colours at 
45 or 46 here you can see the squares 
printed with each individual colours 
used to make the scarf.

Here a scarf was having parts made into velvet.
The metier was painstakingly catching and 
cutting the finest silk threads to create the velvet 
effect.  Bespoke pieces only!  I think they said 
that there are only 3 craftsmen doing this technique!

I tried to capture the velvet but it has not quite 
worked but this feather was like velvet.

Lots of scarves hanging on display and on 
the work table a new scarf is stuck 
to the table ready to print.

The silk is smoothed out before being secured.

The printing man from Lyon.

Ink is poured onto the screen.

The ink is spread over/through the screen.

Then the screen is changed for the next layer.

All the inks/dyes used.

Making a tie.

Painting the Tigre Royale dish.

You can just make out the layers being 
done in stages.

Above and below:- The main design was covered 
with pink "stuff" which pulls off so you avoid 
covering the area with other colours. Here 
the metier is just removing it after sponging 
paint on the background.  Lavender oil 
was used to mix the paints.

A leather metier working on a Kelly.

Not sure what was happening here!

The various threads for leather stitching.

Silk scarf screens.

More screens.

You can see how busy and popular the 
scarf printing was!

You can see the white of the bare silk 
being painted here.  Then I left to get some air!

Outside in the cool another fab window display!

This accessories shop always has 
fab windows but this was extra 
special!

How cute!

The florist shop next door 
was tame by comparison!

Tiffany the jewellers.

Cartier's lovely blue delphiniums!

A close up.

Savills Estate Agency!

Hackett the equestrian outfitters.