IMAGE: HERMÈS

After 15 months of intensive renovations, Hermès Liat, situated at 541 Orchard Road, will finally be open for business this Friday (20 May 2016), with open houses planned for the weekend on Saturday and Sunday to explore the metamorphosis of the Hermès store. Consider it a homecoming of sorts, one filled with anxiety and dreams, with fingers crossed for all the planning and construction going on, and now it’s finally done and you can’t wait to see it all in its full glory.

And while I haven’t been to the store yet (the media preview is slated for tomorrow), I do feel the need to share this with you, a foreword by CEO Axel Dumas that perfectly explains our tiny island state’s treasured relationship with the French luxury house, one that started way before we even had our first official store in the 70s and our very own replica of the Hermès firework-maker on horseback that sits on the roof of 24 Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris, with 541 Orchard Road now being one of the few stores in the world to have this honour.

Enjoy the foreword, and stay tuned for more updates via Instagram and Snapchat bright and early tomorrow morning.

On each of my trips to Singapore, I am struck by the many paradoxes of the place. Its immaculate, tree-lined roads, its spectacular, infinitely modern skyline that seems ever evolving, its curious standing as a city-island-state, the colourful blend of cultures and languages and the natural coexistence of the traditional and the cosmopolitan. A city that is constantly on the move yet rooted in nature, Singapore perfectly epitomises Hermès’ theme for 2016: ‘Nature at Full Gallop.’

Hermès long ago recognised the attraction of Singapore as one of the world’s greatest trading centres, perfectly placed between East and West. Before we even dreamt of opening our first store on Orchard Road in the 1970s, there was a Hermès emissary who would travel to the city regularly and set up in the legendary Raffles Hotel to serve our eager customers.

This re-opening of our store at 541 Orchard Road, Liat Towers is the expression of our commitment to Singapore, the region and our clientele, who have been faithful to Hermès for well over four decades. The expansion of the building offers more space for expressing the abundant diversity of our sixteen métiers. On the top floor, Aloft at Hermès, one of the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès’ five art spaces around the world, reaffirms our belief in offering the community a unique place at the heart of Orchard Road to encounter and fall in love with art.

Atop the building, the Hermès firework-maker on horseback (a replica of the figure on the roof of 24 Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris, created for the 150th anniversary of Hermès) holds aloft a pair of silk scarves fluttering in the wind, joyfully heralding a new chapter for Hermès in Singapore.

At Hermès, passion for the future and respect for the past are inextricably linked. Since 1837, six generations of my ancestors and Hermès artisans have devoted themselves to creating objects of the highest quality. From our beginnings as harness-makers to the rich medley of collections offered today, our founding values remain the same – creative freedom, fine craftsmanship, innovation and excellence. Yet our creations only truly come to life when they find an owner.

It is with great enthusiasm that we open our doors to you, our Singaporean friends and treasured customers, to share our newly extended home. I look forward to welcoming you all!

Axel Dumas
Chief Executive Officer, Hermès

Image: Hermès