[Title] puzzle blocks
[Artist] Constantin & Laurene Boym
[Date] September 16 – November 16, 2004
This window expresses one of the key elements of Hermès, which is “playfulness.” Inside, there is a colorful formation of a cubic puzzle, a toy which everyone must have played with at least once. The main motif of the puzzle is half-man, half-horse Centaurus from Greek mythology. Instead of a picture of a man’s upper-body, there stands on top of the puzzle a torso displaying the prêt-a-porter. Thus, Centaurus is completed by a combination of the puzzle depicting a horse and the torso wearing Hermès’ prêt-a-porter. Comprising the other faces of the puzzle are ten patterns of scarves from the 2004 Fall/Winter collection, as well as Hermès orange and Bolduc brown. The product designers who handled this window were Constantin & Laurene Boym. This cube, colored by the horse, scarves and Hermès colors, is the same size as the glass block with which Maison Hermès is built, measuring 45cm on all sides.
What is interesting about a cubic puzzle is that it presents a different image by changing its face. Following this idea, the cube in the window display changes from a white horse to a brown color. Furthermore, during the last half of the exhibition, saddlery was fully displayed in order to express one of the themes of the 2004 Fall/Winter ladies’ prêt-a-porter, “Amazon/ (ladies’ saddle).”
The cubic puzzle is classical, yet graphic. Here, one can find a harness as well as the prêt-a-porter created by Jean-Paul Gaultier. This production, in which various Hermès products coexist, represents Hermès as a brand that balances tradition and innovation. This is a simple yet playful window that confronts the theme “Color and Fantasy” by taking hint from a child’s toy.
Constantin & Laurene Boym
New York based product designers. They have been involved in various product designs such as Alessi, Swatch and Flos, as well as space design for the showroom of Vitra.