Friday 28 August 2009

Hermes d'Orange

Hermes was the first.
When orange was chosen to adorn packages, boxes, bags, papers and items for the home; no one else was using it.

Orange was not at all representative of 1940s France. Surprisingly enough, but not without reason, orange did not exist in the West for a long time. It didn't even have a name.

It was a product of blends ordained by the Inquisition, it is a sub-color, like purple and brown. Seen as vulgar, flashy and inferior, it is usually the last in line when it comes to favorite colors in France.

It was a daring move: Orange disturbs conventional people because it wraps them in a warm embrace. It shocked conformists because it denotes spark. It puzzles people set in their ways because it's new.


Hermes was a pioneer. Long before the days of flower power and the craze for psychedelic tone, before fashion altogether, when it was all about showing one's unique and precious character and being in line with certain tradition (The Muses' dresses in Greek mythology were orange)...

One shade alone was right for the job: orange! The color of fruits bursting with vitamins, the color of all the promises of dawn and the splendorous of fire, the color of warmth.

Think outside the box today!

Pictures via Hermes

2 comments:

jak said...

the third image is really creative!! i used to like orange... but now, i like red and black =)

Fé... said...

I've always loved white and red. They're my all time favorite. But orange is a nice touch!

I bought a couple of orange -bright orange, apparels, and always feel my mood lighten up when wearing them ^^