Early last month, Hermès and Verve partnered for the launch of La Maison – an epic 11-volume tome that documents the sacred inner workings of the iconic French brand – at the Hermès flagship store in Mumbai.

Several photographs from the book were selected as this photo-exhibition narrated stories about the Hermès saga for the first time in India, after travelling to Paris and New York.

The man behind these arresting pictures is South African fashion photographer Koto Bolofo who worked under cover for a period of seven years. He coaxed Jean-Louis Dumas (former CEO of Hermes) to allow him to document the craftsmanship of Hermès. This was the first time in the history of the brand that an outsider had been allowed to freely explore the sacred domains of the Hermès workshops.

On the appointed day Mumbai was still not awash with the rains and in the evening guests alighted from their wheels to walk into the plush Hermés store. The artistic action was all on the first level, where the exhibits were displayed prominently on the walls. The invitees strolled slowly across the room, taking time to admire each picture, stopping to look at the books on the table. The sighs of admiration and the many interactions about each offering proved that works of art are universal.

The room swiftly filled up as the aficionados of luxury and all things beautiful poured in. Trays of mouth-watering bites did the rounds. Plated up for the chic crowd were potato and corn galette with charmoula dressing, coriander and kaffir lime cottage cheese with tomato chilli jam and asparagus on parmesan toast, smoke salmon mousse in green garlic tarts and more. The guests were reluctant to leave – discussing each frame, with flutes of champagne in their hands, celebrating the moment and the common interest that kept them engrossed.

Amongst those who joined Verve to experience the fascinating history of Hermès were Aqueela Hussain, Ipsita Dasgupta, Purnima Sheth from Rose, jewellery designer Poonam Soni, art consultant Durva Gandhi, gallery owners Pravina and Jamaal Mecklai, and photographers Jatin Kampani, Colston Julian and Joy Datta.

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