Punk designer found her way to the windows of Hermès
Northeastern University student Haylen Wehr describes her creative vision for fashion as “avant-garde” and inspired by the punk and gothic cultures and communities.
So, Wehr — who created her own clothing brand while in high school, and has been designing dresses since she was a child — was a little surprised when she toured the Paris headquarters of Hermès and found that she shared “a lot of brand DNA” with the luxury stalwart.
“Originally I’d seen it just like everyone else sees it — as something very ‘up here in the clouds,’ unattainable, ultra luxury, ultra exclusive and all of that stuff,” says Wehr, a fourth-year student studying international business with a concentration in social innovation and entrepreneurship as well as a minor in global fashion studies and Spanish. She is also fashion director of The Avenue fashion magazine at Northeastern.
But the Hermès tour taught Wehr that the exclusivity and luxury of the brand stemmed from its commitment to craftsmanship, sustainability, an egalitarian corporate structure and employees, not just marketing.
“It was really what I had been learning about in all of my social entrepreneurship classes,” Wehr says. “That tour completely transformed my perceptions of what Hermès was.”
Wanting to learn more, Wehr garnered a co-op with Hermès, working in the New York offices of the 188-year-old family-owned business.
“I couldn’t imagine a better learning environment for fostering not only professional growth but personal growth,” Wehr says. “It suited my personal goals really well in terms of collaborative and cross-functional learning between teams and a really beautiful attention to the product itself.”
Wehr spent six months on the media advertising team at Hermès, working with long-term advertising partners to coordinate and track ad campaigns and do market research for upcoming campaigns.
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“It’s largely traditional media, which is really awesome because they build these really long-standing partnerships with publications,” Wehr says, calling it a “super sustainable” business practice.
Then, Hermès asked her to stay on for an additional two months and make a “big jump,” in Wehr’s words, to the window display logistics team. The team’s first intern, Wehr worked with designers and artists to bring the artist’s vision from a two-dimensional drawing to a three-dimensional display.
“Essentially, what I did in that role was completely revolving around styling: How are we going to showcase this merchandise in this window to make it really stand out? What are we going to choose? How are we going to convey this message that we want to convey visually?” Wehr says. “Bringing concepts to visual stories is so relevant.”
The co-op culminated in an intern meeting with the company’s North America CEO for coffee and (of course, Hermès being a French brand) croissants as well as a workshop where Wehr led colleagues as they built out their own window display.
“The freedom to be so creative with my presentation was just a testament to how much the company fosters personal development and creativity,” Wehr says. “It’s hard to imagine something better than that in a working environment.”
A Hermes spokesperson says students like Haylen are “essential” to the company as it evolves.
“(Haylen’s) driven, genuinely excited about the industry, and offers a fresh perspective that keeps us innovative and connected to the next generation of fashion consumers and creators,” Camille Mohsenin says in an email.
And while her personal style may favor the edgy, Wehr did leave the co-op with more than just an appreciation for Hermès as a brand and a workplace.
“Yes, they were very generous,” she says, laughing. “I was lucky enough to get my hands on a few silk scarves.”
