At Milan Design Week, Hermès Blurs Past and Present to Celebrate Its Homewares

There are few pit stops during Milan Design Week quite as delightful as a visit to the Hermès showroom. At their longtime home (during Salone del Mobile, at least) of La Pelota Jai Alai—an event space in the heart of the Brera design district—a sun-dappled outdoor courtyard invites you to take a seat on colorful, custom-made outdoor furniture, or stop by the coffee truck set up at one end for an espresso. (It’s served in a paper cup printed with a pattern from the maison’s latest homewares collection, naturally.)

This year, however—after an attendant with a silk scarf tied around their neck opened the doorway to the space’s interior—visitors were greeted by a more unexpected mise-en-scène. In place of the grand theatrical installations that have defined Hermès presentations in years prior, the room was bathed in darkness and at first appeared relatively spartan. Until, that is, you took a few steps further in and turned your gaze downward: Covering the enormous floor was a striking series of panels covered variously with raw earth, terracotta, bricks, rocks, adobe, and wood, with criss-crossing black walkways overlaid to create the effect of walking through an archaeological site.