Why it belongs in ORBIS
Born in Paris in 1956, Pierre Hardy trained in plastic arts and danced professionally before designing footwear at Christian Dior (1987-1990) and then Hermès from 1990, where he later added high jewelry design in 2001; he launched his own label in 1999 and sold a minority stake to Hermès in 2016.
Pierre Hardy was born on 1 February 1956 in Paris, the son of a ballet instructor and an athletics teacher. He earned a teaching degree in plastic arts from the École Normale Supérieure in Cachan and worked professionally as a dancer before moving into shoe design, first assisting an established designer. In 1987 he took a design position at Christian Dior, working there until 1990, when he began designing footwear for Hermès, a relationship that has continued for more than three decades. In 2001 his role at Hermès expanded to include high jewelry design. Hardy launched his own eponymous footwear label in 1999; within its first year the brand sold 5,000 pairs of shoes to retailers including Neiman Marcus and Barneys New York. For Hermès's spring/summer 1998 collection he designed the Quick trainer, made entirely of leather, which is credited as the first sneaker produced by a luxury fashion house. In 2016 Hardy sold a minority stake in his own company to Hermès. His work is known for architectural heels and graphic, minimalist sneaker designs.