February 18, 2025 |
Imagine a world where anything is possible; where luxury knows no limits and imagination takes tangible form. Imagine a handcrafted jukebox wrapped in buttery leather or a boat, trimmed with the finest of Hermès craftsmanship. Envision the sumptuous interior of a private jet, a mahogany and cowskin DJ table or a bespoke bird cage bag designed to transport a twittering warbler (that took no less than three years to complete). It’s a masterful thing to think up, but in actuality, it’s far from a fantasy. Hermès Atelier Horizons, a subsidiary of the French house, is the mastermind behind it all and more, using its peerless creative wiles to turn the most audacious dreams into reality.
Utterly redefining the idea of personalised luxury, the Hermès Atelier Horizons workshop handles special orders; that means no request is too extravagant, no vision too ambitious. Axel de Beaufort, artistic director of Hermès Atelier Horizons, has held the position for more than 13 years, all the while steering the atelier into uncharted creative territories. With extraordinary engineering as the outcome, de Beaufort’s degree in naval design and architecture from the University of Southampton, prize-winning yacht designs (he won the Yacht of the Year prize from the London Royal Ocean Racing Club in 2005 and the Milano Nautical Design Award in 2012) and own, namesake design office are what make him such a driving force at the atelier. “We try to dig into new territories and answer clients’ dreams,” he tells 10 during a tour of the Hermès Atelier Horizons workshop, “because at Hermès we like to say we are a company with clients who like elegance in their lives. Everything could be part of that life and we like to be here with our own answer to that.” Christophe Beltrando, managing director of the project, adds, “It’s all about objects, it’s all about function, it’s all about aesthetics, it’s all about innovation and pushing the boundaries of what you can do.”
Pierre-Alexis Dumas, artistic director of Hermès, says, “The interesting thing is that this existed, in fact, since day one, because Hermès was really into bespoke editions. They were doing made-to-measure horse carriages for clients, so this bespoke service to clients has always existed.” De Beaufort adds, “A great example is the Birkin bag. It was made for Jane Birkin, so you see what I mean? It was not a top-down execution where you have a boss asking a designer to make a bag. We found a rockstar and put a name on it – it was a bag for Jane Birkin. And this is very important because this is really where the process of creativity is within this house. You know, I’m working, obviously, on a day-to-day basis, but we never have instructions from the family telling us what to do. It’s more about being creative – fun ideas, fun stories. And so, this is why the whole métier is on top of creation, and this Horizons story is really at the cornerstone of the house.
“To give you a little image, a third of what we do at Horizons is bag-making – the bags – and this workshop is in the Faubourg, which is amazing because we still have a workshop in the Faubourg, where everything was before. And another third is about making bigger projects.” De Beaufort then points to a car that was redesigned and given a second life by the atelier; they make around four or five a year. “We have made cars for a very long time – you can see some of them here – but we are going as far as making made-to-measure leather again, so for the colour, the trim, the finish… or the fabric, for instance, we restock some cars and even weave some specific fabrics for them,” he says. “We go really far into the research for these petit cars.”
Throughout the tour we also see bespoke surf boards, skate boards, long boards and bikes (with detachable ‘Love Cabins’ that can be unfolded into mobile beds), as well as an intricately dressed foosball/football table, which for some, might take the craftsmanship cake. “We could’ve taken the shortcut of using an existing football table and just wrapped leather around it, but we decided to redesign one entirely – and with the best people we could design with. We even had the world champion of table football try everything to make sure it was right.” De Beaufort emphasises this penchant not just for perfection, but for taking the time to do things right. “You have to imagine that the little guys are being painted by hand, by an artist called Christian Renonciat,” he says. “Initially, we were only thinking about making just a few of them, but we had so many requests from stores to sell the football tables that the hand painter literally became mad… So, once again, it’s about the process – we are not trying to take shortcuts to do more. We are into this – everything we do has to be about craft and taking the time to do things in the craftsman way.”
At Hermès Atelier Horizons, function is placed on just as high a pedestal and presentation. The point isn’t to create the biggest, newest, Hermès branded pieces – it’s about working intelligently and innovatively, without constraint, to deliver the exceptional fruits of intensely considerate labours. “Some people come and see us and say, ‘Well, we’re making an orange car, and I want an orange interior with Hermès written all over.’ And we are like, ‘We are not a branded company – we are craftsmen,’” says de Beaufort. “You have to understand what we do – it’s about really super high-end craftsmanship. It’s not about luxury – it’s about authenticity. So, usually, what we do when a team comes in with a client that says, ‘I want an orange car, in an orange box, with Hermès written everywhere, and some Kelly bags in there too,” we are like, ‘Man, that’s not the right house!’” Dumas adds with a laugh, “Cross the road – get on the other side!”
It’s not about securing the most prominent clients either. “We don’t do surfboards for the biggest rider,” says de Beaufort, “if we make a surfboard, it’s not a marketing story – it’s about finding the right people who have something to express.”
With no request too ambitious and no detail overlooked, Hermès Atelier Horizons is pushing the limits of bespoke craftsmanship. Whatever sprinkling of magic it may be, each creation is a testament to the house’s dedication to artistry and innovation as a whole. As de Beaufort puts it, “Our dream will inspire more dreams” – and at Horizons, those dreams are only getting bigger.
Photography courtesy of Hermès.
