The brand’s emblem takes the viewer back to a time when essential clothing and accessories were made only from natural, high-quality materials. The Hermes logo signifies a company that has preserved these ancient traditions.
Hermès was founded in 1837 in Paris, when Thierry Hermès opened a workshop producing horse harnesses. His saddles and bridles attracted the attention of European aristocracy, and by the 1850s, his clientele included royal courts.
In 1867, the workshop received a first-class medal at the Paris World’s Fair. In 1880, Charles-Émile Hermès moved the store to 24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and introduced retail sales alongside custom orders.
By 1902, management passed to Adolphe and Émile-Maurice Hermès. In the 1900s, Émile-Maurice shifted focus from horse equipment to leather goods as automobiles replaced horses. In 1918, the company introduced a golf bag, marking its entry into the personal accessories market.
During the 1920s, Hermès launched belts, opened a store in Montreal in 1924, and introduced clothing in 1927. Around 1929, Émile-Maurice patented the zipper for leather goods in Europe. In 1930, the first leather travel bag appeared.
In 1935, Hermès introduced the Haut à Courroies bag, which later evolved into the Birkin. In 1937, Hermès introduced its silk carré scarves, eventually producing over 2,000 designs using multi-step printing techniques.
After 1951, Robert Dumas led the house, followed by Jean-Louis Dumas. In 1956, a bag Grace Kelly used was renamed Kelly and became a catalog product made by a single artisan.
In 1984, after a meeting with Jane Birkin, Hermès created the Birkin bag. In the 1990s, the company avoided public listing and external control, unlike groups such as LVMH and Kering.
In 2010, LVMH disclosed a 14.2 percent stake in Hermès. By 2014, regulators fined LVMH, and it sold the stake, ending the conflict.
Meaning and History
From a horse-harness manufacturer to a global fashion trendsetter, Hermès has come a long way. Today, its trademark is recognizable in every corner of the planet and signals good taste. True, Thierry opened a hairdresser’s at the very beginning, but his son Charles-Emile delved into the saddlery business. He offered customers the first bag called Haut à Courroies. It was a travel accessory for riders. The fashion house adopted the current logo in 1950, and it has remained unchanged since.
The Caleche Hermes trademark label is not made from scratch. It is alleged that the designers created it based on a painting by the French animal and portrait painter Alfred de Dreux (1810-1860). The painting’s title is “Le Duc Attelé, Groom a L’Attente” (A horse-drawn carriage waiting for the groom). The designers used it as inspiration. Modern experts point out the incredible similarity between the logo and the design.
What is Hermes?
Hermès is the abbreviated name for the luxury fashion house Hermès International S.A., based in the heart of France. It was established in 1837 and has expanded in several directions. Beyond clothing, its product range includes leather goods, perfumes, watches, jewelry, and home goods. Thierry Hermès founded the brand, after whom the company is named.
The emblem’s graphic part represents a light landau with high springs, a harnessed horse, and a rider standing in front of it in a tailcoat, hat, and high-toed boots. The horse, chaise, and harness take up a proportionally large part of the image, while the person looks small and inconspicuous. This emphasizes the bond with the skin. Below the image are the company name and its city of origin.
The logo’s symbolism is clear: it highlights the brand’s origins and its link to the convertibles for which it made seats and saddles. This version of the emblem appeared in the mid-20th century.
Font and Colors
Most often, the Fashion House labels its products only with a graphic sign, but sometimes supplements it with a text element naming the company and the city. They usually appear on tags or advertisements. The preferred spelling is the French “Hermès.” The word is executed in a strict angular font with large serifs. The typeface is unique and named after the fashion house. Paris is rendered in uppercase in a sleek sans-serif typeface.
The holding follows the early version in the color palette: a warm orange hue close to the pastel spectrum. In the early 1950s, it was used for branded boxes and became an important element of its visual identity. It also comes in lack-and-white and brown.


