HERMES 90cm SILK SCARF - ANIMAPOLIS
by JAN BAJTLIK
Words cannot describe how giddy this design makes me! Definitely not the traditional equestrian themed Hermes scarf, this 2019 design is the first from Jan Bajtlik, a young Polish artist who began working with Hermes in 2016 at the age of 27 (yes, it takes years from commissioning an artist to seeing the final design produced in silk and available at boutiques).
I credit this scarf with bringing me out of an unintentional three-year scarf hiatus. Long story, but my collection had been piling up like Mount Silk in my guest bedroom and toward the end of 2019/beginning of 2020 I'd decided to re-home all but a few special scarves. I started researching the market and stumbled upon this design and *pffft* just like that I was hooked again.
From the Hermes Story Behind:
In this phantasmagorical city, zebras, dinosaurs, monkeys and toucans joyfully run riot. Each animal tells a story - a dragon lays siege to the Warsaw Palace of Culture and Science, a leopard sets its sights on the Kremlin in Moscow, and a panda and crocodile pass the time lounging at the foot of Moscow's St. Basil's Cathedral. And, for the very best view of this delightful spectacle, other protagonists gather at the windows of Hermes on Faubourg Saint-Honore in Paris. An exuberant composition, Animapolis is Jan Bajtlik's, a graduate of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, first silk scarf designed for Hermes.
Not only do I adore all the animals overtaking famous buildings from around the world, but I beyond-adore that his dog Kluska ("Noodle" in English) features so prominently in so many vignettes of this scarf (I believe there are 18 Kluskas in this design!). Like an Annie Faivre design there is so much detail here that I notice something new every time I look at this scarf.
This used to fetch a premium on the resale market, but in 2021 while the world was on COVID lockdown Hermes discovered a stash of Animapolises (Animapoli? Animapolix? Animapoleaux?) and everyone who missed them in the boutique got their second chance.
I credit this scarf with bringing me out of an unintentional three-year scarf hiatus. Long story, but my collection had been piling up like Mount Silk in my guest bedroom and toward the end of 2019/beginning of 2020 I'd decided to re-home all but a few special scarves. I started researching the market and stumbled upon this design and *pffft* just like that I was hooked again.
From the Hermes Story Behind:
In this phantasmagorical city, zebras, dinosaurs, monkeys and toucans joyfully run riot. Each animal tells a story - a dragon lays siege to the Warsaw Palace of Culture and Science, a leopard sets its sights on the Kremlin in Moscow, and a panda and crocodile pass the time lounging at the foot of Moscow's St. Basil's Cathedral. And, for the very best view of this delightful spectacle, other protagonists gather at the windows of Hermes on Faubourg Saint-Honore in Paris. An exuberant composition, Animapolis is Jan Bajtlik's, a graduate of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, first silk scarf designed for Hermes.
Not only do I adore all the animals overtaking famous buildings from around the world, but I beyond-adore that his dog Kluska ("Noodle" in English) features so prominently in so many vignettes of this scarf (I believe there are 18 Kluskas in this design!). Like an Annie Faivre design there is so much detail here that I notice something new every time I look at this scarf.
This used to fetch a premium on the resale market, but in 2021 while the world was on COVID lockdown Hermes discovered a stash of Animapolises (Animapoli? Animapolix? Animapoleaux?) and everyone who missed them in the boutique got their second chance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
