leïla menchari, la reine mage

There are artists who seem to have lived several lives, and whose work is intimately rooted in exceptional places and encounters. And of these lives and these works there are writers who know how to restore the charm and fullness as accurately as possible. Such is the “Leïla's story” told to us here by Michèle Gazier, thanks to a sensitive pen and an accomplice friendship.

Leïla Menchari is this free and beauty-loving woman who, between 1978 and 2013, presided over the decoration of the windows of the Hermès store on rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré. His creations – marvelous nomadic tales –, his talent for making the color of silks sing with that of leather, trace a story that began in the 1930s near Tunis…

Because there are first places.Born in a family in love with modernity, the dreamy and curious little girl discovers very early, and by chance, the fabulous garden created by the American Jean Henson in Hammamet. The little "Alice in Wonderland" welcomed by the Henson couple then trained at the Beaux-Arts in Tunis, then at the Beaux-Arts in Paris where her bohemian and creative life began, before opening up for her. , rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, the doors of the Hermès house. Alongside decorator Annie Beaumel, her two Tunisian and French cultures come together happily. From 1978, she became solely responsible for the sets.

Prefaced by Axel Dumas, this richly illustrated book shows 137 Hermès showcases designed by Leïla Menchari between 1978 and 2013.