The orchestrator
of colours

Cécile Pesce

Creative director of
women’s silk & beach collections

This month’s theme is “voyage”. Cécile Pesce, the creative director of women’s silk—one of the 16 metiers (product divisions) at Hermès—and the maison’s beach collections, introduces some colourful items that will make you feel as if you are on vacation wherever you go.

Colours come from the heart

―Colours that speak to you

At Hermès, we like to tell stories, whether it’s the story of a single family, a story about vocation, a story about artisans, or a story about the extraordinary journey that we call life. We create our Carré scarves to tell the story of Hermès, but the design process—where it all begins—is also its own form of storytelling. The design is never fixed; it transforms, speaking to you as it reveals part of its story, and then suddenly it begins telling another story. Different colour combinations tell very different stories, as I have seen with the colouring designs I oversee for silk scarves at Hermès. Finding the right colouring is not so much about identifying the most beautiful, but the most apt for that design. If the colour scheme is right for the design, it will speak to people.

―Summer companions

I also design the beach collections, which put you in a summer mood throughout the year. These items really do brighten up any scene. Look at this beach towel. It is part of our outdoor collection—designed to promote l’art de vivre (the art of living)—and is perfect for Hermès. It is made with water-absorbent material, making it suitable for everyday use. In fact, many of us at Hermès use it ourselves! The material is made from very thick cotton loops, and printing on it requires the expertise of textile specialists in Lyons. That’s why the towel is so smooth yet so soft. It both absorbs water and blocks the sun and is a great companion wherever you go. The textile traditions of Lyons are essential to Hermès designs. We also send our Lyonnaise silks to Lyons for colouring by their colouring specialists.

―Colours that evoke emotions

I work with colours, and I find it to be an incredible job. Colours can inspire very vivid images, and our job is to convey these images through what we call “colour stories”. At Hermès, each design is produced through a combination of 10 to 15 colours. By playing with the colours and changing them to suit each design, we can ensure that every design has a different colour scheme. Colours can evoke so many different emotions. We often say that colours come from the heart, and it’s this idea that guides me when I select the colours that best suit Hermès. Colour has become my language, and like with all languages, it has transformed and adapted over time.

―Must-haves for the summer

This summer, I’ll be vacationing with my Yachting beach towel. It’s a fabulous two-colour towel covered in stylized illustrations of yachts. As long as I have this towel with me, my summer holidays will be perfect!

―Memories from a trip

Just ten days ago, I came back from visiting Ginza Maison Hermès. I have fallen completely in love with Japan. The trip was a reminder that both Tokyo and Paris have strong artisan cultures in every field, defined by meticulous craftsmanship and techniques that have been fine-tuned over decades and centuries. I organized an event in Ginza around a special silk collection called Precious Silk, and this one guest came up to me and said, “I was so excited for the event, I couldn’t sleep a wink! I wanted to see the collection before anyone else!” Isn’t that wonderful? I hope to be back very soon!

Cécile Pesce

Pesce, who has been at Hermès for 20 years, is the creative director of women’s silk—one of the 16 metiers at Hermès—and the maison’s beach collections. Her job involves choosing the colouring for silk items and producing Hermès’s summer and winter beach collections.