Last week on October 22, Hermès transformed its Madison Avenue boutique into a “Self Service” dinner presentation, showcasing its new “Art de la Table” collection by artist Nigel Peake. Upon walking in, guests mingled over champagne before hearing from Robert Chavez, President and CEO of Hermès USA, who greeted the attendees with a brief introduction to Peake. Joining us for a cantina-inspired culinary experience, as well, was Benoît-Pierre Emery, the Creative Director of Objets et La Table Hermès.
“For this collection, Pierre-Alexis Dumas wanted to tell the story of an English garden. In the 18th century, the first English gardens were drawn by artists (as opposed to the ‘jardins à la française’ that were conceived by architects). It therefore seemed obvious to work with an artist to create our imaginary and poetic garden,” said Emery.
Photo by Tiffany Sage, BFA. Courtesy of Hermès.
For the new collection, Peake designed garden-inspired tableware pieces that were the perfect underlayers for dishes by Chef Éric Trochon like creamy corn soup, lobster tail in chickpea broth, and truffle ganache. Upstairs on the third floor, special attendees explored the new collection while enjoying the special pop-up atmosphere.
“I was asked by Hermès to make a collection on the theme of an English Garden. Through a series of drawings, I started to glimpse what a garden is and what it could be,” explained Peake. “I decided to see the table as the plot of land and for the various plates and bowls and cups to be plants or patches of color. So that when you set the table, you are making a garden.”
Photo by Tiffany Sage, BFA. Courtesy of Hermès.
