HERMES 45cm SILK SCARF - BRIDES DE GALA
by HUGO GRYKGAR
When people think of Hermes scarves, this design is often what they envision. Brides de Gala was first issued in 1957, and Hermes had been making silk scarves for 20 years. Fast forward 46 years later, to 2003, and Brides de Gala was my very first Hermes scarf, a birthday gift from a French friend. (Back then, a gav was just under $100. Now picture me sitting between Edith and Archie Bunker singing 'Those Were the Days'.)
Brides de Gala is a simple design: a pair of ceremonial bridles framed by a solid border. One of the many Story Behinds, from Hermes:
Brides de Gala, arguably Hermes' most renowned scarf, has never lost its seductive powers. The aesthetics of the flamboyant bridles and the perfection of its composition make it the very image of Hermes' timeless spirit. its name, brief and precise, has the radiance of ceremonial dress. It evokes buckles rattling in time with the majestic pace of the horses.
When Hermes re-issued Brides de Gala in its 'Forever' collection in Spring/Summer 2024, it wrote:
In 1957, Robert Dumas worked with Hugo Grygkar. He placed two bridles face to face on the floor, and immediately it became clear that the composition was perfect, a scarf with unparalleled simplicity came to life. This was followed by the talent of a precise and subtle hand, which is so dear to the House. This design reflects the first love of a House of saddlers, its attraction to the beautiful, useful, and durable, as well as the enduring legacy of a title whose sounds evoke, as Jean-Louis Dumas once noted, "dazzling ceremonial garments". The interlaced harnesses feature pieces from the Émile Hermès collection. Objects sometimes have a truly wonderful destiny.
In my early years of collecting I thought it would be cool to have every iteration of this design - the classic, the 'mini' with its checkerboards of repeating mini-scarves, En Disordre, En Finesse, the 'love' version... Had I stuck with this strategy, I would have 45s, 90s, jersey triangles, PM and GM cashmeres, mousseline stoles. There is seemingly no end to what Hermes can do with this classic design (most recently, the tartan gav). But there is a finite space in Ye Old Scarf Drawer so this first scarf, the BdG gav, is the only one I've kept.
Brides de Gala is a simple design: a pair of ceremonial bridles framed by a solid border. One of the many Story Behinds, from Hermes:
Brides de Gala, arguably Hermes' most renowned scarf, has never lost its seductive powers. The aesthetics of the flamboyant bridles and the perfection of its composition make it the very image of Hermes' timeless spirit. its name, brief and precise, has the radiance of ceremonial dress. It evokes buckles rattling in time with the majestic pace of the horses.
When Hermes re-issued Brides de Gala in its 'Forever' collection in Spring/Summer 2024, it wrote:
In 1957, Robert Dumas worked with Hugo Grygkar. He placed two bridles face to face on the floor, and immediately it became clear that the composition was perfect, a scarf with unparalleled simplicity came to life. This was followed by the talent of a precise and subtle hand, which is so dear to the House. This design reflects the first love of a House of saddlers, its attraction to the beautiful, useful, and durable, as well as the enduring legacy of a title whose sounds evoke, as Jean-Louis Dumas once noted, "dazzling ceremonial garments". The interlaced harnesses feature pieces from the Émile Hermès collection. Objects sometimes have a truly wonderful destiny.
In my early years of collecting I thought it would be cool to have every iteration of this design - the classic, the 'mini' with its checkerboards of repeating mini-scarves, En Disordre, En Finesse, the 'love' version... Had I stuck with this strategy, I would have 45s, 90s, jersey triangles, PM and GM cashmeres, mousseline stoles. There is seemingly no end to what Hermes can do with this classic design (most recently, the tartan gav). But there is a finite space in Ye Old Scarf Drawer so this first scarf, the BdG gav, is the only one I've kept.
|
|
