J’aime Mon Carre Hermés scarves campaign 2011

Hermés just launched a new website to hopefully bring their scarves back from the land of 60 year old fund raising dinner partiesclick to see it.

I am not sure yet where I stand when it comes to their attempt to advertise through street style shots. Is it refreshing? is it phony? does it succeed in taking us out of our indifference? It is nice to see big names acknowledging the impact style blogs have, and to see them open up to a more bottom up influence. However, I also think it is not a complete effort. It doesn’t come full circle because it leaves out the most important aspect of blogs: diversity. The key element that distinguishes blogs from everything else is diversity. It is about a bunch of people with different backgrounds shedding their opinions on the same topic. Sadly, Hermés has fallen short in this regard, because after seeing all their pictures I realize it is the same body type as always, the same face, the same crisp photography of glossies. They almost seem to stand there whispering: “This is the Hermés world. This is what people who wear Hermés scarves should look like. We have no space for your chubby neighbor and your 50 year old aunt in our world of bicycles and scarves and baguettes.”

So it stops being street style to be an ordinary ad campaign, only difference is the cast is much bigger and there are no names in it. Question: are they embracing street style in their campaign, or just faking it from the same smug perspective?

On the other hand, it is also interesting to see all the possibilities a square piece of fabric contains:

Anudas dos y lo usas como sari

En el pelo tiene todos los pros de un coletero sin ser un suicidio de la moda

Como camisa es muy fresquita

Como bolsito!

En la cintura

If you are considering buying one, here are 4 really nice tuts on how to tie them flawlessly (since prim is back on the fashion scene)