Hermès and the Art of Digital Storytelling

In an online world built for speed, Hermès has done something few heritage brands have managed: it slowed everything down — and still captured everyone’s attention.

The brand’s new Horse and Cart reel, directed by Tom Emmerson and produced by Red Buoy Studio, is a surreal moment of poetry on TikTok. A horse sketches an Hermès sofa while pulling a cart of imagination across a minimalist studio. It’s witty, unexpected, and unmistakably on-brand. The humour is quiet, the visuals deliberate, the mood effortless. In just a few seconds, Hermès transformed a digital trend into a work of art.

Heritage in Motion

Every frame of the reel feels like a dialogue between past and present. The image of the horse — a nod to Hermès’s equestrian roots — doesn’t just reference history, it animates it. What might have been a simple visual gag becomes a metaphor for how tradition drives creativity forward.

This is Hermès’s genius: using legacy as motion, not monument. The craftsmanship of the past becomes the creative fuel of the future.

While others chase virality, Hermès builds narrative. The difference lies not in budget, but in belief — the belief that timeless design can thrive in the most transient spaces.

Craft Meets Culture

The reel’s impact lies in its paradox: it feels native to TikTok yet entirely foreign to its chaos. Hermès doesn’t follow digital culture — it redefines it. Through impeccable set design by Hervé Sauvage and the subtle lens of Isaac Eastgate, the brand translates its physical craftsmanship into digital composition.

The horse, the line, the sketch — all become gestures of control, proof that mastery can exist even in motion. It’s not content; it’s choreography.

For Hermès, the algorithm is not the enemy — it’s the new atelier.

Lessons in Digital Luxury

Hermès reminds us that elegance and innovation are not opposites; they are two halves of the same brand language.

Interpret, don’t imitate. The brand doesn’t mimic TikTok’s aesthetic — it adapts its rhythm, maintaining the integrity of its voice.

Heritage is a creative resource. The reel proves that history isn’t static. When brands use their origin story as inspiration, they build modernity with substance.

Invest in quality — even for seconds. Every shadow, sound, and texture in Hermès’s 10-second film feels intentional. In luxury, execution is strategy.

Humour can be high-end. The film’s playfulness isn’t ironic; it’s intelligent. It’s proof that grace and wit can coexist — if treated with precision.