Hermès : handbags, scarves... and helicopters !

What do a leather handbag, a silk scarf and a helicopter have in common ? The surprising answer is Hermès. However, how did Hermès come to sign an agreement with Eurocopter ? One only has to delve into the history of Hermès to discover why this project is not as incongruous as it might seem. Hermès has always been interested in transport, having manufactured saddles, harnesses and travelling trunks, and designed the interiors of cars in the 1930s. So why not a helicopter ? Nevertheless, the business relationship between an important industrial group and a family-run business is not that straightforward, especially because the project management was entrusted to a designer, not the kind of person with whom an aeronautical engineer normally deals. However, common ground was found between these seemingly disparate functions in an attempt to find an extremely functional object. Also, looking at the industrial process through a new pair of eyes - those of a designer - helped the project to move forward.