Manners & Mischief

Your field guide to stylish living

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Work With Me
  • Categories
  • Archives
  • Secret Shops

Conversation starter: What is the Hermès orange?

January 21, 2015 by anubha76 Leave a Comment

Orange has been the Hermès hallmark colour since the Second World War, when the company’s packaging supplier ran out of its traditional brown-trimmed beige box. When the company was launched in 1837, the first boxes were cream-coloured, with gilded-edging, imitating pigskin; a few years later they became mustard-coloured with brown edging.

hermes orange 2The Second World War forced the next color change. During the Occupation, the shortage of all materials forced Hermès to use the only plain paperboard available: it was orange. Moving to orange was a pretty bold move in the 1940s, but there has been no turning back for the company that began in Thierry Hermès’ saddle shop in Paris.

According to Leatrice Eisman, author of All About Colour, “Because orange is closely associated to red from which it comes, vibrant orange is a very physical, high-visibility colour, calling for attention. And because of it’s connection to sunny yellow, orange is seen as friendlier and more approachable, less aggressive than red – a gregarious, fun loving hue.”

After the war, this color was continued, but in a much more vivid shade (as today) with a relief pattern. In 1949, the Bolduc (brown ribbon) was introduced. Before 1996, jewellery and tableware had different colored boxes: grey for jewelry and green for tableware; however, today all Hermès objects come in the orange box, which comes in 188 different sizes. This burnt orange corresponds to No. 1448 on the Pantone Matching System.

hermes orange 1

Filed Under: Brands, Cult, Design, Fashion, Gifting Tagged With: Hermès, Hermes color, Hermes colour, Hermes orange, Hermes packaging, Hermes signature colour, what is the Hermes orange, why is hermes orange

« When wine meets cheese: A quintessential guide to creating the perfect pair
Jodhpurs 101: The anatomy of a fashion classic »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Categories

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress