HermÉs Produces Commemorative Scarf for Marquis’ 250th Birthday

In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette’s birth on Sept. 6, 1757, the renowned French design house Hermés is producing one of its famous scarves depicting the life of the Marquis and the connection he helped forge between France and the United States.

The scarf, designed by Texas artist Kermit Oliver, who has created the art for more than a dozen Hermés scarves, will be released in the fall to coincide with the Sept. 6 celebration. It contains images of paintings and other historical items located in the College’s collections.

• “Impressions of a Democracy-Loving Hero: Artist Kermit Oliver, Designer of the Hermés Scarf” (Lafayette Alumni News magazine, Summer 2007)

There will be a special opportunity for members of the Lafayette community to purchase the scarf during the anniversary year. A percentage of the sales through the College will benefit the Friends of Skillman Library and the Lafayette College Art Collection. There are also plans in the works to feature the scarf in other ways during the celebration. The scarf will be permanently added to Skillman’s Special Collections.

• For information on purchasing the scarf, contact Diane Windham Shaw, special collections librarian and College archivist, at x5401 or email.

Lafayette is planning a yearlong celebration during 2007-08 in recognition of the life and legacy of the man for whom it is named. Major events will include a lecture series, entitled Lives of Liberty, featuring renowned speakers; a historical exhibit at the Williams Center for the Arts, entitled A Son and his Adoptive Father: The Marquis de Lafayette and George Washington, and a birthday party.

• A web site dedicated to the celebration and to the Marquis’ unique connection to the College provides information and updates

Tracy A. Hart ’77, who graduated with a degree in French and currently lives in Easton, has been the main architect of the scarf project. While living in Paris in 1992, Hart met Bertrand de Courcy, the manager of Hermés’ Paris boutique, through a fashion show she helped put together as a member of the American Women’s Group of Paris.

A decade later, Hart, who is a member of executive council for Friends of Skillman Library, attended a lecture presented by Shaw. The topic was the Marquis de Lafayette’s design influence on the early 19th century.

The talk planted the seed for the project, and, with Shaw’s encouragement, Hart pitched the idea of a scarf commemorating the Marquis’ 250th birthday to de Courcy in 2005. He directed Hart to contact Christine Duvigneau, a manager in the Hermés Design Studio, who showed Hart’s letter to company president Jean-Louis Dumas-Hermés

“I’m very proud because Mr. Dumas-Hermés particularly liked the idea of a Lafayette scarf as a symbol of the friendship between the United States and France,” says Hart. “It’s amazing how you meet people in business world and one contact leads to another.”

Once the project was underway, Elaine Stomber ’89, assistant College archivist, pulled together numerous images from Special Collections and sent digital copies to the company. Hermés commissioned Kermit Oliver to design the scarf combining designs from Lafayette’s and other collections. Stomber then fact checked the work for historical accuracy.

“The inspiration for many of Hermés products comes from historical documents and artifacts,” says Hart. “Their work is very authentic, which is why I felt Hermés would be the ideal company to design a scarf based on the College’s Marquis de Lafayette collections.”

Hart believes the scarf represents the global connection that the Marquis tried to instill in others throughout his life.

“This is really a prestigious project,” she says. “And the first time Hermés has designed for an American college or university. I’m very excited that it has come together in time for the celebration.”

Hermés is a 137-year-old company that once outfitted horse-drawn coaches in Paris. It first introduced its scarf line in 1937 as the company expanded from a leather goods company into a lifestyle brand. Hermés releases about 15 new designs each year, which are made at a factory in Lyons, France. From an artist’s sketchpad to the final inspection, each scarf can take as long as two years to make and involve as many as 40 artisans.