Bonjour Hermes – j’adore votre ligne mais je ne comprends pas l’interieur du magasin

Ok. I love Hermès as much as the next girl. The trademark scarves, the leather goods, the home wares. The styling is classic with just enough wit to never make it dull and the company has proven over and over that it’s willing to push the boundaries with quirky design elements and even it’s fun, albeit slightly cumbersome, new website. All good. What I don’t get is the new Paris showroom.

It’s cool. It’s very cool in fact, in that it is a repurposed swimming pool in Hotel Lutetia complete with original penny tile flooring.

So when I look at the overall effect, I think Kenneth Cole branding or maybe DKNY, but I’m not seeing where Hermès fits into the picture. The organic elements that resemble Indonesian fishtraps are a great architectural element but again I don’t understand where it connects to the Hermès brand.

So while I in no way critique the line’s design concept of pairing the classic with the quirky or the architect’s effort of repurposing a beautiful old space, particularly one this unexpected, what I struggle with is making the connection between the two. I’d love some opinions on this one.