La Maison is an 11 volume collection that documents the House of Hermes production practices over a six year period.
Photographed by Koto Bolofo, a South African fashion photographer (Vogue, i-D, et. al) who grew up in Great Britain and who also gained unprecedented access to Hermès when he started working for Monde d’Hermès, the Hermès magazine, in 2004, the volumes are a must have for fashion and photography aficionados.
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“Mr. Dumas [the chairman of Hermes] asked where I came from. I said South Africa,” recalled Bolofo in an interview recently. “He asked what part. I said Lesotho. He was shocked and very excited. He explained that his great great great grandfather was a missionary in Lesotho and that the Zulus used to attack his mission, but the Sothos – my tribe – protected him. I was very happy to be a Lesothan in Mr Dumas’s office that day. He called me his cousin and said that his cousin was welcome any time and I had carte blanche to photograph what I liked in Hermès.”
Bolofo’s documentation includes black and white images of skilled artisans assembling coveted Hermes products, like the brand’s famed Kelly Bag. Color images feature teams of workers working towards a larger collection, as well as portraits.
La Maison by Koto Bolofo is available on Steidlville.com, but 33 images from the book can be seen at the Gallery at Hermès September 14th – 30th at the brand’s flagship store on Madison Avenue in New York.
Some images from the book are in the gallery above.
