Hermès

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Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès (/ɛərˈmɛz/ air-MEZ, French: [ɛʁmɛs]), is a French luxury design house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches, and ready-to-wear.

Its logo, since the 1950s, is of a Duke carriage with a horse.

The firm is very attached to its traditional business model and rejects mass production, assembly lines, and mechanization. ^[1]

In 2022 Hermès sued the NFT creator Mason Rothschild, who has seen viral success marketing a line of digital assets he calls “MetaBirkins.”

The French luxury house dropped its famously discreet posture in order to come out guns-blazing against Rothschild in a 47-page complaint submitted to New York’s Southern District Court Friday, calling the creator “a digital speculator who is seeking to get rich quick.” ^[2]

The complaint, which was first reported on The Fashion Law, raises questions about how trademark protections for real-world items will be enforced in the digital realm as commercial activity heats up in the metaverse.

Rothschild’s digital dupes of the Birkin, which depict fur-covered bags shaped like the iconic totes, first sold online in December for $42,000. The bags retail for over $10,000 in the physical world and are particularly coveted on the resale market due to their limited production.

However, in 2022 Hermès reveals plans for Metaverse fashion shows, crypto and NFTs. ^[3]