Hermès Opens in Nashville's Wedgewood Houston
WWD
By Jean E Palmieri
Hermès has landed in Music City
The French luxury house on Thursday will open its first store in Nashville. The two-story unit is located in the up-and-coming Wedgewood Houston neighborhood in a red brick building that formerly housed a hosiery factory.
Like it does in all of its U.S. stores, the Nashville unit was designed to pay homage to the local community, as evidenced by the custom electric guitar that was created for the store by the company's Parisian artisans from ebony, walnut, and leather. There are also special Arceau watches featuring a music-inspired On Air carre illustration by French artist Carine Brancowitz.
Hermès is located in the historic May Hosiery Mills
Although the Nashville metropolitan area is home to more than 2 million people, it was still a city in which Hermes had long hoped to open a store. "We've seen a lot of really interesting demographic shifts," said Diane Mahady, president of Hermès America. "I think that where we continue to open stores might surprise people."
"We love the location; the store is absolutely beautiful," she added. "It's in an old hosiery mill so it sort of speaks to the industrial past of Nashville. We're not downtown, we're not at the mall, and the store itself will be an expression of the community."She pointed to all the subtle musical references within the design as one of the reasons it will be distinct, and she expects those Easter eggs to connect with the "vibrant" community in the city.
Hermès is one of the only retail stores in the Wedgewood Houston area, which is also home to Soho House and a lot of local and nationally known restaurants. "We like to lean into lifestyle areas," Mahady explained, "where people go to relax and hang out. So we feel it's a good location for us since we tend to be a destination. When our longtime clients come in, we prefer not to be in a high-traffic area so we can really preserve the quality of the experience."