The chicest press day goody bag I ever received came from Hermes. Well, bien sur, you say. The French house is after all the haut-est of luxury brands.
So, what was this beyond-chic gift? One of the house’s fine fragrances?A coin purse made from the softest leather known to lamb? A silk foulard embroidered in gold with my own initials.
Non, non and non.
It was a small box of organic hen’s eggs and a string-tied bunch of asparagus, with a card bearing the recipe for the perfect Hollandaise sauce.
Just possibly the fact that it came in the distinctive orange Hermes bag, rather than a Sainsbury’s Local helped elevated this gift in my mind, but nevertheless I’ve always thought it was an artfully stylish lesson.
The word luxury is as overused, as misappropriated and as meaningless as ‘fashionista’ or ‘icon’ in my line of work, but it takes a brand secure of its place at the top of the luxury market and confident in its identity, to send you home from surveying its supreme artistry with a grocery supper for one and for the recipient to be profoundly impressed rather than miffed.
Simplicity can wow? That really is thinking out of the box.
