LIP SYNC

Pierre Hardy brings perfect harmony to Hermès’ beauty debut

- AMY SERAFIN

Pierre Hardy gently brushes his thumb over a gold-colored indent at the top of a new Hermès lipstick tube. It is engraved with the house’s ornate ex-libris emblem chosen by Émile-Maurice Hermès in 1923. ‘The top curves inward a bit like a fingerprint, giving it a little softness,’ says Hardy, who has designed shoes and jewellery for Hermès for 30 years. ‘It’s an anticipation of the gesture to come.’

With its brand-new beauty line, Hermès seeks to turn the task of applying make-up into a pleasurable ritual. Since its beginnings as a harness-maker, in 1837, Hermès has expanded its activities to more than a dozen métiers, everything from saddles to scarves. But the house is a latecomer to beauty, presenting its first make-up offering this March. It starts with a lipstick collection, Rouge Hermès, to be followed by a full make-up range by 2023, and a skincare line after that.