As one might expect on a sunny June afternoon in Paris, the Louvre’s Cour Napoléon was filled with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of tourists, many taking selfies while the rest lined up to get glimpses of the priceless works of art within. A small contingent of people stood out from the crowd. They were far better dressed than everyone else there, and they made their way away from IM Pei’s iconic glass pyramid, towards a door at the northwest side of the Place du Carrousel.
Inside, models in elegant resort wear and bearing black clipboards guarded access to a preview of Hermès’s latest high jewellery, designed and presented by Pierre Hardy, creative director of Hermès jewellery. The new collection is titled Les Formes de la Couleur, which means “the shapes of colour”, but can be more accurately expressed, as Hardy told Tatler, along with other select media invited to the preview earlier in June this year, as “the expressions of colour in shapes”. The advance showing was spread across several artfully darkened galleries. The only light in these rooms came from the exhibition cases set into the walls, within which this new collection of fine jewellery shone stunningly. The effect was hypnotic—and colourful.
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Pierre Hardy, creative director of Hermès jewellery
After our preview, we were ushered upstairs into a small red‑velvet‑lined room to chat with the creative director about the beautiful collection. Hardy’s journey with Hermès has always been about merging tradition with innovation and Les Formes de la Couleur is no exception. “The 1970s were one of the big inspiration points for this collection,” he shared. “That period was so colourful and rainbows are so emblematic of that time.” Hardy’s creative process is deeply influenced by his diverse artistic experiences—some of which are quite surprising. “Do you know the [1980] movie Xanadu? That was actually one of the starting points of the collection,” he quipped. “The movie starts grounded in reality, but then suddenly, you pass into another dimension through the use of colour. Colour was utilised to express a passage from one reality to another and that’s something I wanted to express with this collection.”
This transformative use of colour is evident throughout the collection, particularly in how familiar Hermès icons have been reimagined. “When you look at something you already know, you can recognise it, put a name on it, and then the way we use colour turns it into a completely different object,” Hardy said.
At the core of Hardy’s philosophy is an openness to diverse influences and a willingness to blend high art with the everyday. “You should never turn your nose up at anything,” he stressed, “because great art can come from anywhere: highbrow, lowbrow, it’s a mix, and you never know how they’ll combine, but at some point, they do.”
Hermès Les Formes de la Couleur Hermès Diaprés necklace in rose gold set with emerald‑cut centre diamonds, mother‑of‑pearl, sapphires, tsavorite and spessartite garnets, amethysts and diamonds
Expounding on this, he added: “Pop culture is very important—pop art, music, movies. All of this, that you absorb in your life, feeds into your inspiration. I never know sometimes where it comes from because it’s like layers and layers accumulating, and sometimes, these pop up and reappear in the creation. At the end of the day, nothing’s from scratch.”
The designer’s background in fine arts also plays a significant role in his approach to jewellery design. “For me, art is very important, and I know that I’ve been very influenced by it, and still am,” Hardy shared, raising the example of American painter and sculptor Ellsworth Kelly. “He’s one of the major painters for me. Once I learnt to look at his work, I learnt to love it. [So] much of his work is about colour and this influence has also informed this collection.”
The geometric purity and vibrant hues of Kelly’s work are mirrored in Hardy’s jewellery designs, creating a dialogue between fine art and haute bijouterie. Hardy’s exploration of colour is both methodical and intuitive.
“I learnt about the theories of colour during my art degree, and I re‑immersed myself in them with passion and method to develop this collection. This theoretical study develops a hierarchy of colours—primary, secondary, tertiary—envisaging their relationships, complementarities, temperature, et cetera. Some pieces are based on these theories and lead to more narrative explorations,” he explained. This blend of rigorous study and creative freedom resulted in pieces that are both structured and expressive.
Hermès Les Formes de la Couleur Arc en Couleurs necklace in rose gold set with sapphires, tsavorite and spessartite garnets, tanzanites, amethysts and diamonds
In addition to being in charge of fine jewellery at Hermès, Hardy also famously heads the maison’s footwear division, and runs his own very highly regarded luxury footwear and fashion accessories brand, simply named Pierre Hardy. When asked if he is more passionate about jewellery or footwear, he replied that he could not choose, instead offering insight into what the key differences between designing for the two are. “Shoe design is precise,” said the elegant designer, “but jewellery requires more attention to detail and a different kind of creativity. The materials are rare, precious and valuable; they require a lot of care and respect. Jewellery is also more of a commitment. Our job is to make the pieces look as light as possible, despite the complexity and value.”
This commitment to craftsmanship and innovation is at the heart of his work at Hermès. For Hardy, the interplay between tradition and modernity is a constant source of fascination. “It’s a question for Hermès to keep this tension between what we could call classics and newness. With this collection though, I try to forget the regular things,” he revealed. “The focus here is innovation, surprise and astonishment.”
Hermès Les Formes de la Couleur Arc en Couleurs bracelet in rose gold set with sapphires, tsavorite and spessartite garnets, tanzanites, amethysts and diamonds
This philosophy is embodied in pieces such as the Arc en Couleurs necklace, which blends the nostalgic with the avant‑garde. ”Some people, when they look at the design, have said to me, ‘Oh, it’s from the 1930s!’” he said.
Ultimately, the collection, shared Hardy, is about creating joy and wonder. He elaborated: “I wanted to express a lot of ideas at the same time. It’s possible to want some quite different things all at once. However, I wasn’t trying to use colour to unite a range of heterogeneous objects— quite the opposite, in fact. The exploration of colour has produced extremely rich and extraordinarily diverse results. Rather than stifling this diversity, I wanted to pay tribute to it, and give it every opportunity to resonate and flourish. I’ve not sought to restrict, but rather, to allow.”
With Les Formes de la Couleur, Hardy invites us to see the world through his eyes—where colour is not just a visual experience but a transformative journey. Its vibrant hues linger in our minds long after viewing, a testament to Hardy’s vision and the boundless possibilities of colour at Hermès.
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