Françoise de la Perrière has designed some truly exceptional scarves for Hermès© and in my humble opinion, the Cuirs du Desert might be just one of them.

Hermès© in its tradition to “scorn all walls, fences and restrains of the spirit” undertook to make 1988 The Year of Exoticism going beyond borders in the spirit of Pierre Loti. 

Pierre Loti gained fame for his semi-autobiographical novel Aziyadé, which was published 1879. As a young French Naval officer, Loti found himself in Turkey, where he fell in love with a much younger harem girl, Aziyadé. In his book, Loti describes both his love for the harem girl and his love affair with the Turkish culture, which quickly gave birth to his fame as well as his exotica persona.

It is then no surprise, that Hermès© took its 1988 Fall/Winter Collection to exotic Turkey, where the brilliant jewel tones of both the collection and the streets of Istanbul fought the drab of winter.

Françoise de la Perrière, a former art teacher, joined Hermès© in the 1950s and her first work, La France, was commissioned by Robert Dumas and issued in 1959.

Madame de la Perriere has described herself as “a perfectionist, who is lazy, an extrovert who appreciates quiet“.

Known to enjoy tranquility along with fixing things around the house, Madame de la Perriere, draws her inspiration from classical music.

As part of the 1988 Year of Exoticism, her Cuirs du Desert blends detail with elegance and her carre is both bold and exotic as it is classy.