Fondation D’Entreprise Hermès
SANDRA NOBRE
Words
Photo BENOIT TEILLET
With nine programmes under its belt and 900 projects led since its creation, the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès shares knowledge, builds bridges, supports the arts and artists, protects the environment and encourages solidarity worldwide.
Photo TADZIO
Photo TADZIO
Photo TADZIO
Photo TADZIO
Photo ISABELLE ARTHUIS
Leaving a mark
“We want to be where we can help.” This is how Olivier Fournier, president of the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, sums up the spirit of the Foundation’s inception, in 2008. It shares the same humanistic and artisanal values and aims that underpin the family business: transmitting skills and know-how, creating works of art, protecting the environment and encouraging gestures of solidarity. Working under such a premise, the Foundation operates both nationally and internationally, adjusting to local needs in the process.
The Hermès luxury house, which began selling in 1837, is well known for creating and offering high-quality items in areas as diverse as ready-to-wear, jewellery, watches, perfumes, tableware, and leather goods. Nearly two centuries later, it continues to support the work of artisans, primarily in France, where most of the company’s pieces are made. Production may be concentrated in one country, but there are 300 stores in 45 countries, including Portugal. Hermès' history and legacy represent a responsibility and inspiration to new generations, who wish to preserve the house’s authenticity and core values. It was this principle that motivated the creation of the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès.
“It’s our gestures that reveal our identity,” declares Olivier Fournier, during an interview with Portico magazine. The Foundation’s president and executive vice-president of corporate development and social affairs at Hermès speaks enthusiastically about the mission he took on in 2016, and the enthusiasm for contributing to so many young people’s future. “It's easy to be passionate when we meet passionate people. It has to do with curiosity and ambition. All the work we've been doing in schools and with students, whether it’s dance, drama, circus, it’s particularly rewarding when we see how important our help has been for them. It’s all about teamwork and I'm delighted we can contribute to change. At a time when people can be isolated in their own little world, the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès builds bridges.”
How much time does time have?
How long does it take to learn selling? To know techniques and acquire a skill? To hone a talent? Craftsmanship requires dedication, commitment, passion and, above all, time. This is at odds with an ever-busy society and a generation that lives in the here and now. And wants quick results. “It takes time to transmit knowledge, which is why most of our programmes are long-term. We want to ensure that, in the end, there’s a transformation,” explains Fournier.
The Foundation president gives the example of programmes like Manufacto, which creates greater awareness of the importance of craftsmanship. This is done in conjunction with Les Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France, an association involved with vocational training and teaching craftsmanship practices, and the École Camondo in Paris, a school of object design and interior architecture. The latter teaches a 12-session course designed for young people between the ages of nine and 16, who learn skills from a young artisan and a teacher. For many participants, it's the first time they have made something with their own hands. “Realising how satisfied young adults are with their work is fantastic. The reason for this programme is to elevate the focus of the artisanal gesture and is aimed at students in difficulty who ought to be guided towards manual sectors to encourage vocations.” Olivier Fournier says.
Another programme unfettered by any type of digital acceleration is Manuterra. Launched in 2021, it’s designed to introduce school communities to research techniques and knowledge about life on Earth, thus contributing to environmental protection and the planet’s sustainability. Students begin by planting vegetable gardens, using permaculture techniques, and getting their hands dirty, sowing and harvesting. “In this situation, we can't rush nature. You plant a fruit or vegetable in autumn, you only see the result in spring. You have to respect the seasons.”
Sprouting wings,
at the right time...
And then there's the time of creation, of ideas and creativity, another of the Foundation’s cornerstones. From the outset, there’s been support for artists in the visual and performing arts, those whose work helps us see the world in a different light and celebrate its beauty. Giving artists time to work, to explore their ideas and providing them with the means, tools, stages, ensures the best conditions to be original and exceptional.
There are programmes like Transforme (previously named New Settings), which every year supports the performing arts in all areas, as well as artists with varied backgrounds and experiences. Another project is Immersion, which gives photographers the chance to participate in alternating artistic residencies between France and the United States, not to mention the chance to exhibit their work. There are exhibition spaces in Brussels (Belgium), Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan) and Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche (France), which encourage artists to create without the constraints of the art market.
There’s also the Artists’ Residencies, which is a programme that invites guest artists to explore the potential of silk, silver, crystal, and leather. “This programme is like a blank page. A resident artist collaborates with artisans mastering each craft to create their own pieces, which are a combination of both art and manufacturing. And we have the Skills Academy, which concentrates on knowledge transmission, which has been a Hermès tradition since the company’s Foundation. If we're still around, it's because artisans have passed on their skills to the next generations. The academy is a chance for artisans, designers and engineers of any age, who often work alone, to mesh knowledge and techniques using the same material. This can produce amazing ideas,” highlights Olivier Fournier. The Skills Academy works with particular materials, such as stone, metal, wood and glass.
Like many countries in Europe, France has lost many of its artisans, due to a lack of investment in manufacturing. “It was a huge error to reduce employment in this area, because when we forget manual labour, we lose part of our humanity.” The work that the Foundation has been doing with schools aims to recover this know-how. What started with six French schools now includes 89 establishments and a total of 2,100 pupils, who develop their skills alongside artisans, handling raw materials and creating their own pieces. “It's not just the chance to discover a profession. It's a long-term endeavour, an investment in the person and their talent,” according to Olivier Fournier.
At first glimpse, the idea may seem to be an investment in training future professionals to join Hermès’s workshops. However, the president of the Foundation assures us that this isn’t the objective: “What we do at the Foundation is of general interest. It’s not to create bonds with Hermès. When we support dance or theatre via the Artists in the Community programme, it has nothing to do with our business area. What matters here is supporting people who want to follow their passion and vocation.” Currently, the Foundation supports 140 students with scholarships in different artistic areas. “We know them all and dream with them. We want to create better conditions, so they can be better professionals, and be successful. If that happens, it means we've done our part.”
Olivier Fournier joined Hermès in 1991 and has held various positions in the company, from finance and internal audits at Hermès International to general management of the textile production division in Lyon, and general management of the Hermès leather goods and saddlery craftsmanship division. Over the years, he too has grown wings at the French firm, developing a passion for artisanry, the arts, and education throughout his career. He knows the Foundation programmes he oversees like the back of his hand, keenly aware of the mark left on the lives of many, building bridges for the future. At one point during our conversation, he mentions the expression “bienfacture”, which the Swiss often use. It means, work well done. And for that to be achieved, he explains, “you need time”. Taking time to learn, to do, to transform, to endure.
Photo BENOIT TEILLET
