Saddle Up

Tapped by Hermès, artist Virginie Jamin designs a tableware collection rooted in equestrian beauty

- DANA THOMAS

Hermès has a long history of collaborating with artists and designers: In the pre–World War II years, the house used Sonia Delaunay fabrics and produced Jean-Michel Frank furniture, since reissued. More recently, Op Art legend Julio Le Parc produced a limited series of silk carrés.

So when Benoit Pierre Emery, creative director of Hermès Tableware, wanted to introduce a new dinner service, he rang Virginie Jamin, a beloved French children’s illustrator who had already designed an ashtray and 30 scarves for the house.