Video: A glimpse inside Hermès' carnivalesque 'Women's Universe' in New York

3583814579001 Hermès' bathing Parisian beauties storm Wall Street for the house's 'All About Women' New York City event

(Image credit: press)

For a company founded back in 1837, Hermès sure knows how to throw a party. The excuse: bringing its women's Autumn/Winter 2014 runway show to the Big Apple. The result: a raucous and wondrous evening that paid tribute to the luxury house's heritage and creativity.

Taking up in the uninhabited lobby of the former JP Morgan building at 23 Wall Street, right opposite the New York Stock Exchange, Hermès created a weaving labyrinth of installations, each devoted to a different aspect of its offerings. In one, floating female hands served flutes of champagne from behind a circular bar resembling a stack of enamel bracelets, their wrists laden with bracelets themselves.

Another room embraced an equestrian theme, with displays of riding gear from the Hermès archive arranged adjacent to a horse race carnival game, and a carousel themed photo booth - Martha Stewart even had a go.

A giant light bulb shoe signalled the entrance to a showcase of Pierre Hardy's footwear creations for the house, while an all-white bar, adorned with paper flowers, focused on its latest fragrance, Jour d' Hermès Absolu. The whimsical world lasted just for one night. Here's a peek at what else it had in store.

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Pei-Ru Keh is a former US Editor at Wallpaper*. Born and raised in Singapore, she has been a New Yorker since 2013. Pei-Ru held various titles at Wallpaper* between 2007 and 2023. She reports on design, tech, art, architecture, fashion, beauty and lifestyle happenings in the United States, both in print and digitally. Pei-Ru took a key role in championing diversity and representation within Wallpaper's content pillars, actively seeking out stories that reflect a wide range of perspectives. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children, and is currently learning how to drive.