[Title] gallop
[Artist] Tokujin Yoshioka
[Date] February 14 – April 9, 2002
The first window design in 2002 was produced by designer Tokujin Yoshioka. Using only one saddle and only handbag, Yoshioka expressed the annual theme, “The hand.”
Hermès was started in 1837 as an atelier for producing saddles. This is why the horse is expressed in our logo as a symbolic figure. It was this symbol that Yoshioka chose as the background image of the window. In the front right, there is a close-up photograph of the profile of a horse. The horse’s expression, strangely infused with a sense of pathos, stops the strides of pedestrians. In the front left is a photograph of a herd of horses running through the field. Processed in monotone, the two photographs fill the viewer with nostalgic feeling, as well as effectively emphasize products on display.
In front of these photographs, there is a simple box-shaped objet made of mirrors, on top of which a saddle moves as if there were a person riding it. Watching this natural movement, one becomes overcome by the vision of a rider on top of a horse. A Kelly bag also rhythmically swings to the right and to the left, using the principle of the pendulum. The handbag swings regularly as if to mark the passage of time in the long history of Hermès. In the small windows, there are pictures (adjusted to the colour orange) of a horse running through the field, and products displayed before it.
The theme “The hand” expresses a spirit of craftsmanship, which Hermès has proudly carried down for generations. Yoshioka has emphasized our tradition and history by adding movement to the saddle and Kelly bag, which represent our origin. Yoshioka succeeds in expressing such weighty concept through technology, which stands in direct opposition to craftsmanship. It is a window display that is truly profound, yet with a light comical touch.
Tokujin Yoshioka
Born in 1976. Graduated from Kuwasawa Design School in 1986. Having learned design from Shirō Kuramata and Issei Miyake, Yoshioka began working as a freelance designer from 1992. He founded the Tokujin Yoshioka Design in 2000. His experimental design has earned him a high reputation internationally.