The Hermès Marine Naïve is carré with an interesting inspiration.
The Marine Naїve was designed by Philippe Dumas in 1967 and re-issued as part of the Fall/Winter 1992/1993 Collection.
This carre depicts sailing ships and has at its center a crest with the “title” Henry F. Smith Sailor, 1880. But that is neither the title of this scarf, nor its subject matter.
So what is this scarf actually about? Might it have anything to do with embroidery given that the style in which the original carré was created echoes embroidery stitches?
In the 1992/1993 Le Carre edition, Hermès poses the rhetorical question whether a sailor, who confronts terrible elements, the ocean, can retain his youthful naïveté? And the answer is a remarkable … YES!
“rough seamen who made a living on sailing ships spent their leisure time doing a young girls work: they embroidered”
Dumas’ masterful emulation of embroidery results in a somewhat elusive but beautiful scarf.
But who then is Henry F. Smith Sailor?
The embroiderer, of course. 🙂
Philippe Dumas interestingly, also created the Chevaux de Francaise carre (photo below), that too, resembles embroidery, this time, the cross-stich…
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