Gorgeous Pretty Powder Blue Vintage Classic ‘Brides de Gala’ (Ceremonial Bridles)

This beautifully coloured classic vintage Hermes scarf is arguably Hermes most celebrated scarf, originally designed by Hugo Grygkar in 1957, and reissued over and over again since. Every Hermes fan will immediately recognise this classic, and, as a result, it is unfortunately, probably also the most commonly ‘faked’ Hermes scarf. This is a genuine vintage Hermes scarf which, when worn, will look like new! It does have a few age-marks and folds running through it, but retains all its colour, weight and detail.  Condition: 7.5/10.

Brides depicts two bridles decorated with the emblazoned fastenings that would adorn the fashionable horse-drawn carriages of Paris.

Hugo Grygkar, ‘the father of the Hermes scarf’, not only designed the very first carré for Hermès, but he also became Hermès’ most prolific artist.

Born on December 9, 1907 in Munich to a Czech family, he grew up in Germany where, from an early age, he attended the studio of his father, who was a tinsmith and bronze sculptor.

In 1914, his family left for France and settled, first in Brittany, in Lannion, and later in the Parisian suburbs.

In his youth, Hugo was a diligent artist and an avid reader, who also loved to write. A very private and modest person, Hugo kept his education something of a mystery, but he most likely attended l’Academie des Beaux-Arts and then the Studio La Ruche in Paris.

In 1939 along with his father, Hugo joined a special corps in the French army, made up of Czech volunteers. Although dismissed after a few months due to kidney disease, this commitment helped him obtain French citizenship. He married in 1942, and two years later had a daughter, Beatrice.

After the war, in a difficult economic environment, in addition to designing scarves for Hermès, Hugo also worked as an illustrator and commercial artist, producing movie posters and some drawings for magazines including Vogue.

Many of the carrés he designed during the forties were created in the tradition of the great illustrators. Maxims, proverbs and aphorisms come to life in playful ways. Hugo, with his great sense of humour, created carrés that are in complete contrast to the hard times of the war and the immediate postwar period.

Hugo Grygkar became the primary designer of the fashion house Hermès, working in close collaboration with the owner, Robert Dumas, who would guide him in the choice of his subjects, drawing on his own private collection, and that of his predecessor, Emile–Maurice Hermès.

Both private collections became a source of wonder and inspiration for Hugo, whose designs often reflected their eclecticism.

Once a theme was decided upon, Hugo quickly sketched proposed concepts that Dumas would chose from. Both men shared a deep mutual respect and a common focus on detail and excellence of the overall design.

It was Hugo’s, modesty and amazing flexibility that allowed him to adapt to the demands of Dumas. In his perpetual quest for perfection, Hugo did not hesitate to get a live rooster for the design of carré Combats de Coqs (1954) or a real zebra skin for what became La Chasse en Afrique (1957). He created more than one hundred drawings between 1943 and 1959.

Fuelled by his great curiosity, Hugo’s sources of inspiration and themes were very varied. His carrés not only reflect its history, but helped create and shape the identity of the Maison Hermès.

Hugo Grygkar died February 22,1959, due to kidney disease from which he suffered for a long time. Shortly after his death, Robert Dumas described him in his diary as “a valuable contributor to the creation of our carrés, a deeply religious man, honest, modest and full of talent,” noting also the “style”, that he had been able to impart to the carré Hermès.

Grygkar’s influence on the carré and the Maison Hermès was profound and his legacy lives on to this day.

The House of Hermes, which currently has a ‘Shadow’ version of Brides available, describes it as:

“Brides de Gala, arguably Hermes’ most renowned scarf, has never lost its seductive powers. The aesthetics of the flamboyant bridles and the perfection of its composition make it the very image of Hermès’ timeless spirit. Its name, brief and precise, has the radiance of ceremonial dress. It evokes buckles rattling in time with the majestic pace of the horses.”