Hermès welcomes students to leatherworking school

Luxury fashion house Hermès has introduced its École Hermès des savoir-faire (the Hermès School of know-how) centred around leatherworking and craftsmanship.

The French house has opened its doors to new potential talents, including those with no professional craftsmanship skills, to leather workshops. The first school of the luxury brand will take place in the Hermès store for leather goods in Fitilieu, Isère.

Following a specified training structure, participants will be tested and evaluated by the brand’s in-house artisans and experts. Students will receive a certificate establishing their involvement in the courses, with a total of 90 craftsmen looking over their progress.

Demand for leather goods and the need to expand on production prompted the house to venture into education, with Hermès stating on its website: “It is now a matter of training adults who, in nine out of ten cases, are completely new to leather goods.”

The luxury group is looking to grow the initiative throughout its leather goods department, with the goal of gradually introducing the training programme to the rest of the division.