Thierry Hermès

Thierry Hermès was born on 10 January 1801 in the city of Crefeld in modern-day Germany, which was at that time part of the Roer department of the French First Republic as a result of the Revolutionary Wars; he was thus born a French citizen. He was the sixth child of a Protestant innkeeper and a mother of Rhineland origin, Agnese Kuhnen.

After the death of his parents in 1821, he settled for a few years at Pont-Audemer in Normandy, a town renowned for working hides. There, he entered as an apprentice to a saddler and harness maker (French: sellier harnacheur).

On 17 April 1828, he married Christine Pétronille Piérart (1805 – 30 April 1896). They had one son named Charles-Émile.

Having become a master craftsman, Thierry Hermès moved to Paris in 1837, where he opened his first workshop at 56 rue Basse-du-Rempart (now defunct), near the Madeleine church. It was originally a horse harness factory, the founding trade of the Hermès company. The idea to create this manufacture had come to him during a previous trip to Paris, after observing that the movements of horses used for transport purposes were hampered by poorly sized harnesses. Thierry Hermès developed harnesses that were sturdy, comfortable and streamlined, and he won awards at the 1867 Universal Exhibition.

He built his business on the strength of a stitch that could only be done by hand. The saddle stitch consisted of two needles working two waxed linen threads in tensile opposition. The quality and beauty of Hermès bridles and harnesses were unrivaled for the Parisian beau monde who relied on equipage for travel. Among the clients were the Emperor of the French himself – Napoleon III – and his spouse, Eugénie de Montijo. The business that was established would, under his successors in the generations that followed, evolve from harnesses and saddles to the trunks, handbags, zippers and other items which the Hermès brand is now reputed for.

Thierry Hermès died at Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1878. That year, the house distinguished itself at the Universal Exhibition with a gold medal, second in the ranking out of seven awards. His son, Charles-Émile Hermès, then took over management of the company and extended its activities to saddlery. He also moved the store to 24 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, which meant that the store was now in proximity to wealthy clients.