Hermès Noir

Noir is the Hermès name for black. Product pages listed it for fourteen lines, more than any other colour we cover, from the Evelyne, Lindy and Picotin Lock to the Bolide Relax 45 and Hac à Dos PM. It appears in the online store far more often than Craie, Rouge H, Nata or Gris Pantin.

What Noir looks like

Noir is a deep, plain black, and the name is simply the French word for the colour. There is no blue, brown or green cast to account for, which makes it the least ambiguous name on a Hermès product page: a listing marked Noir is black.

Because the colour itself is uniform, what changes from bag to bag is the surface. On black leather the grain, the sheen and the stitching become the details you notice. The product page names the hardware separately, for example palladium plated or yellow gold plated, so check that field as well as the colour when you compare two black versions of the same model.

Noir across leathers

Noir was listed for lines made in a wide range of leathers. Hermès describes Togo as matt, with a round, irregular grain and visible veins; Epsom as having a small, regular and slightly glossy grain; and Swift as almost smooth with a delicate shine.

A matt, grained black and a smooth, slightly shiny black are both Noir, but they do not look the same side by side, because their surfaces reflect light differently. We do not rate the colour leather by leather. Compare photos of the specific model and leather, and see the leather guides for how each one is described.

Similar colours

If Noir feels too stark, Gris Pantin is a lighter, equally low-key option in mid grey. Rouge H is the dark colour to consider when you want something with more presence than black. For a neutral that is not black but still pairs with most things, Étoupe is the grey-brown middle ground.

Frequently asked questions