The quest for lightness, like a challenge to gravity, is incarnated by the creation of objects for the home, showcased in four structures at Milan Design Week 2022

These constructions, in the shape of water towers, are light despite their monumental proportions; made of wood and covered with translucent coloured paper, they radiate light. Inside, each object expresses know‐how that draws power from precision. In Hermes home collection, for the first time, textiles are the underlying theme running throughout. Five creations form the fabric of this manifesto for lightness - all of them made from cashmere, one of the house’s favourite materials. This infinitely delicate natural fibre combines a taut hand with bright colours. Textiles explore different manufacturing techniques: strips of cashmere form the design of ethereal plaids; squares woven and dyed by hand make up a great patchwork of shimmering colours; geometric shapes assembled using a relinking technique evoke stained-glass windows; a large, quilted bed cover brings colours, patchwork and traditional quilting technique into dialogue.

Objects, porcelain and furniture assert their singularity: a cut and folded sheet of leather with hand-painted decoration becomes a centrepiece; porcelain plates reflect sunlight; a canework seat affords a chair as much delicacy as it does strength. Lightness of line produces timeless style, as these creations demonstrate. Our perception changes as light plays over them when backlit against the scenographic structures: poetic giants and anchoring points for these small miracles of equilibrium.

Highlights of the collection include Surfaces - the bed covers are constructed from remarkable cashmere hexagons that combine patchwork with the precision of quilting, crafts in which American artist Carson Converse is an expert. Made with 100% cashmere, quilted and patchworked at 220x240cm, the design is by Gianpaolo Pagni.  Meanwhile, the construction of plaid has also been inspired by Pagni’s designs, where cashmere panels are assembled by relinking - a technique borrowed from couture. This subtle interplay of textures, materials and colours continues with H Pythagore, an assembly of hand-woven and hand-dyed cashmere squares. H Tartan and H Tissage are two explorations of stitching on a cashmere weave of rare finesse. These textiles with surprisingly dense geometric patterns and lines are appealingly tactile and bring lightness to the home. The Pli’H is a Bridle leather sheet created by Hermès Studio. Crafted from sheets of vert-olive and rouge capucine leather, this original wall‐mounted organiser is elegantly adorned with slightly domed and hand‐stitched tabs borrowed from the Kelly bag. Where storage meets contemplation, there is harmony.

The Coulisse is a T-shaped table lamp - a simple bamboo frame covered with parachute fabric, embraced by a steel circle from which soft light emanates. The beauty of this lamp, created by Tomás Alonso, lies in its agile forms and the emphasis it places on the interplay of space and lightness. Furniture wise, a fine balance has been contemplated. The Oria chair, designed by architect Rafael Moneo, exudes balance and harmony, transcended by the comfort of the materials —oak, leather, canework—and the know-how of the house’s artisans.

Also, the Karumi stool (in Japan, karumi means simplicity, lightness and purity) is a graceful piece designed by Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza. Its structure and seat, in curved bamboo and carbon fibre, combine lightness with strength. The final icing on the cake is the Soleil D’Hermes porcelain service, where twenty-four pieces are like treasures for every table. In white porcelain illuminated with a deep, shaded yellow and outlined in delicate black, like a faint shadow, the graphic motifs of stylised palm trees by designer Arielle de Brichambaut echo the precision of the artisans’ gesture, creating harmony between the material, the colour and the design. Designed by Arielle de Brichambaut, choose from the array of 32cm presentation plates, 21cm dessert plates and 14cm bread and butter plates. Bon Appetit!