What are the three big colour trends for 2024?
There are so many colours at Hermès. This year is about the Faubourg, which takes Hermès back to its origins, so to give a roundabout answer I would say orange and Rouge H red, but of course Hermès has always valued colour so I don't really have a top three. We have a permanent range of leather straps in 32 colours, including the always popular Barenia. As for the H08 Colors, all four versions – yellow, orange, green and blue – are doing extremely well.
Your one certainty for 2024?
We're taking a cautious view in this early part of the year, because of the political and economic uncertainty in many parts of the globe, but for the moment we've seen no signs of a slowdown. The main reason for this is the still modest size of our watch business, which makes continued growth easier. I would also say we have entered a virtuous circle. Our teams feel more confident to talk about and sell our watches So from a macroeconomic perspective, I'd say it's a lack of certainty. As far as Hermès is concerned, we feel confident.
What about diameters? Going up or going down?
If we look at the industry as a whole, we see that many brands have moved into women's watch territory. Add the fact that men seem to be wanting smaller diameters, around 38mm or 39mm, and there is effectively an overall reduction in watch sizes, although this doesn't apply too much to Hermès as our watches are generally not very large. Our maximum diameter is 43mm for a men's watch.
Can we expect more technical innovations?
Hopefully you'll see that's the case in April when we present a watch that I would describe as highly complicated. We're working on some really interesting and motivating projects which aren't yet at a sufficiently advanced stage to be able to show them. It all takes time.
Steel, gold, ceramic, carbon… What's "hot" in materials in 2024?
We stay mainly with classic materials such as gold and steel, but we also have innovative materials, especially for the H08, such as a graphene composite and a composite of aluminised glass fibre and slate powder. We do work a little with ceramic but it's still quite complicated.
Is sport-luxe still a trend?
Hermès has never been about performance. The sport-luxe watch is an object that's easy to use. It's a watch that accompanies its owner all day and for their entire life, which includes swimming and diving. It's been said that the H08 is a sporty watch but not a sports watch. The same goes for the Hermès Cut, our new sports line with an in-house movement. Although it was designed with women in mind, its universal style and 36mm diameter will probably appeal to some men, too.
2023, year of the chrono? And 2024?
Hard to say! What I can say is that we have a major programme of complications for the next five years and a lot of ideas in development.
How important is sustainability?
For a long time, Hermès was like Monsieur Jourdain [in Molière's Bourgeois Gentilhomme], engaging in sustainable development without knowing it. We knew we were one of the brands with the least environmental impact but this wasn't something we thought to mention ten years ago. Our model is essentially artisanal by which I mean made by hand, without machines. This is particularly true for our leather goods but for a lot of objects, too. This is why Hermès's emissions are six times lower than those of all its competitors at the global level. Over the past six or seven years we've seen that, while we are on the right side, we could do better. Our clients expect it and so do our staff. The planet needs us to take action. It's true that we don't overcommunicate on these topics. It's not our style.
A standout piece at Watches and Wonders?
Our new sports line with an in-house movement. It was designed more for women but has a universal style which will no doubt appeal to some men, too. A 36mm diameter makes it ideal for wearing the entire day, including for sport and for swimming underwater at the pool… a little deeper, even.
