“Draw me your dreams,” Beaux-Arts student, Leïla Menchari, was told back in 1961. What started out as a young Menchari’s dream, is now one of the most iconic aspects of Hermès… its windows.
Former Head of Windows, Annie Beaumel, succeeded her position to Menchari in 1978. Since then, Menchari has surpassed all expectations through her mesmerizing works of art. The stories that she tells through her window-displays are infinite in style, composition and elegance. While each story is unique, her expertise is indistinguishable.
In honor of the ever-lasting impact Menchari has left on Hermes, Paris’s Luxury Design House opened an exhibition at the Grand Palais Museum last week (November 8th), which will last until December 3rd. The free event, titled “Hermès à tire-d’aile – Les mondes de Leïla Menchari”, consists of eight impeccable display windows crafted by none other than Leïla Menchari herself. Menchari didn’t realize that by drawing her dreams for Beaumel back in 1961, she was opening the door (or in this case, window), to the tokened Hermès displays. “When I came into Hermès, I didn’t know I would come into the most beautiful trap of my life,” she explained at the exhibit. Well, we sure are glad that Menchari stumbled into this profession; because without it, Hermès would not be what it is today.
Sources:
http://rama/antigone/section8.rhtml
Hermès to Honor Window Designer Leïla Menchari
https://www.vogue.com/article/hermes-leila-menchari-grand-palais-windows-exhibition