Hermès pour Liberty (London, UK)

First off, I'd like to thank everyone for their anniversary wishes. I know some would have chosen to attend FNO, but in retrospect, I'm pretty sure Jourdan Dunn or Daisy Lowe would have somehow convinced me to buy an overpriced item I didn't need, so it's all good (in fact, I heard Alice Dellal managed to sell someone a really expensive fur coat at Miu Miu... I wonder if that person regrets it yet...). Instead, I did more guilt-free window-shopping and this time around, my beloved Liberty hosted a pop-up store of its own.

The six Hermès pour Liberty scarves (images: Liberty).

Hermès scarves are as typically Parisian as the Liberty print is associated with London, so it was only a matter of time before these two brands teamed up to create a collection of six scarves featuring the signature Hermès 'Ex Libris' motif on Liberty's traditional Tara Lawns cottons. The scarves and three different special-edition Hermès-Liberty ties were designed by Bali Barrett, the Creative Director of Hermès Silk. To celebrate this union, Liberty created a pop-up store in their scarf section, remodeled to resemble an oversized dressing up box. Here, customers can not just browse the selection, which also includes Hermès' regular range of FW09 scarves and twillys, but also attend events ranging from scarf tying workshops to photo-styling sessions.

The amazing window display.

Because Liberty happens to be one of my favorite department stores in the world, I didn't really need an excuse to pay it a visit and I had actually forgotten all about this collaboration until I approached the beautiful Tudor building and saw the very orange store windows. Liberty is renowned for having some of the best shop windows, but I was still stunned by how they had managed to painstakingly recreate a miniature version of the department store using orange cardboard and paper. All of this was surrounded by Hermès boxes of course. These even hung by the entrance leading directly to the pop-up store area.

The entrance to the pop-up store. Hermès packages everywhere...

I hadn't really planned on spending much time here or even featuring it on the blog until I took a peek in the store. But the staff had done an amazing job transforming the scarf area into an Hermès paradise. Scarves and twillys could be found on almost every wall, tied to orange ropes attached to a soft padded background. Cute wooden mannequin heads modeling the pieces were placed throughout the store as well.

Views of the scarf wall, cash desk and tie displays.

Tables in the middle of the store were made to look like dressing room tables, complete with mirrors and soft benches, allowing you to take a seat and try on the creations yourself. There was a lot of attention to detail, ranging from the giant Martini glasses containing some of the silk ribbons to the carpet featuring the iconic Hermès horseshoes.

The scarf tables...

Open Hermès boxes attached to the walls served as cubbyholes for ties or displayed small mirrors, but the thing I loved the most of course were the props. I actually missed some of them the first time round and only noticed these on my way out, so if you go, pay extra attention to the items against the walls. The most obvious one was the famous Liberty zebra who usually 'lives' in the scarf room anyway but was decked out in traditional Hermès silk for the occasion. The less noticeable pieces were made of Hermès boxes replicating telescopes, cameras and other devices. Looking through these, you'd see moving or fixed images of zebras and horse-carriages. Very cute. In fact, if these had been for sale, I probably would have snapped them up.

I need that zebra...

The reworked spinning hat box showed moving horse carriages.

The view in this box revealed zebras walking into a miniature Liberty store.

Close-up of the scarf mannequin (left) and a camera prop (right).

Last but not least, if you go towards the main area on the ground floor housing the regular Liberty line, you'll see a magnificent arrangement of Hermès pour Liberty scarves suspended from the top-floor ceiling. Right below this, another circular table filled with such scarves can be found.

The store is by no means huge, but you can probably spend quite a bit of time here and I'd head to Liberty regardless of whether you want to catch this or not. I've rarely seen so much effort put into a pop-up store - seeing as they're not permanent, props and decor are usually kept to a minimum. The pop-up will be open until October 18 so you still have plenty of time. If you're not in London but want to get your hands on one of these scarves - all of them are still available via Liberty's online store.

Scarves hanging by the ceiling in the main section and another display underneath it.

Address: Great Marlborough Street, London W1B 5AH
Opening Hrs: Mon-Sat: 10:00-21:00, Sun: 12:00-18:00
Liberty Homepage & Online Shop