On the Wings of Hermès Travels to Santa Monica

The French house’s cinematic daydream arrives on the California coast in July

Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL

An imaginary universe complete with Pegasus, the mythical winged horse, is touching down at Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar from July 15 to 23, when Hermès unveils its cinematic ode to daydreams, On the Wings of Hermès. The open-to-the-public production, created by Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael and choreographer Michèle Anne De Mey along with her Astragales dance company, uses the flying stallion and his seven foals to metaphorically explore the lightness and subtlety of the delicate work of artisans who create the French house’s elegant objects, leather goods, ready-to-wear, and perfumes. In a thoroughly modern twist, the joyous extravaganza combining dancers and creatives along with lighting and image technicians is performed live and projected onto a giant screen in real time.

Set inside a vast film studio, the innovative work depicts the immortal steed — who winged his way to Mount Olympus — and his foals, alongside performers captured in real time and projected for all to see. Each chapter of the seven-part series includes unique backdrops and landscapes that form utopian worlds where poetic figurines and Hermès objects are animated through hand choreography, elements of puppetry, and an inventive blend of dance and music. The live exhibition, which began in France before traveling to Japan and Taiwan ahead of its slated July arrival stateside in Santa Monica, includes a mini circus, an opera sung by a cast of Kelly bags, a flight of gloves, and a pas de deux with two lovers carried off with the wind. Even the French house’s complexion-brightening lipsticks, impressionistic perfumes, and porcelain tableware are in on the act. Barker Hangar, 3021 Airport Ave., Santa Monica, free admission by registration.