The house of Hermès was founded in 1837 as a workshop specialising in finely crafted harnesses and bridles, later expanding into saddlery at the end of the 19th century. In the 1920s, Hermès introduced its first leather handbags and established a women’s couture collection. The house is particularly renowned for its silk scarves, first introduced in 1937, with more than 2,000 designs created since then. Its most iconic handbags include the Kelly, originally designed in 1923 and subsequently reinterpreted several times, and the Birkin, introduced in 1984. Among the notable designers who have worked for Hermès are Martin Margiela and Jean Paul Gaultier.