Hermès packaging boxes are famously orange, a color that became an unmistakable visual signature of the fashion house.
The association began during the Second World War, when shortages made Hermès’s usual cream-colored packaging difficult to obtain. The company used an available orange cardboard instead, and customers quickly came to recognize it. The color later became part of the brand’s identity rather than a temporary substitute.
Hermès uses orange across boxes, shopping bags, ribbons, and other presentation materials, although exact shades and packaging styles can vary. The orange box is often discussed alongside the Birkin and Kelly bags, but the packaging itself is not evidence that a bag is authentic.
The brand’s visual identity also includes its horse-and-carriage emblem, which reflects Hermès’s nineteenth-century origins as a maker of equestrian equipment.