mystery at the grooms': hermès brings interactive installation to NYC

an immersive mystery lands in new york

At Pier 36 in downtown Manhattan, Hermès is set to open Mystery at the Grooms’, a sprawling interactive installation that invites visitors into a fictional French estate teeming with theatrical intrigue. The event runs from June 19th through June 29th and transforms a former warehouse into a series of immersive rooms populated by equestrian staff, luxurious objects, and a puzzle waiting to be solved.

The project centers on the Grooms’ House, a domestic world created for the caretakers of the Hermès horses. From the outset, the setting affirms the brand’s equestrian heritage, which dates to 1837 when Hermès was established as a harness and saddle maker. Here, that legacy is restaged with a twist — the horses have gone missing, and it’s up to guests to locate them using a mobile phone-based game that links digital interactivity with physical exploration.

Six rooms — the Head Grooms’ Office, Dormitory, Pantry, Refectory, Laundry, and Stock Room — have been outfitted as richly atmospheric spaces, with subtle shifts in lighting, sound, and scent setting the tone for each interior. Visitors begin their journey in a stylized garden filled with flower arrangements, horse-shaped topiaries, and luminous Hermès motifs tucked into floral displays.

Mystery at the Grooms’ by Hermès can be discovered at Pier 36 in New York City | image © designboom

horses are hidden among hermès objects

Each unique space throughout Mystery at the Grooms’ functions as both a stage set and a showcase of Hermès design. Items from the fashion house‘s sixteen metiers — including ready-to-wear, ceramics, equestrian gear, and leather goods — are integrated into the narrative, acting as a camouflage for the herd of missing horses.

The Laundry is lined with a rack of monochrome shirts on a conveyor belt, among which a horse-shaped patch peeks out from a sweatshirt. In another, guests lift a silver dome to reveal a mare hiding beneath. The attention to material detail is acute, with polished oak cabinets, custom textiles, and hand-painted tiles reinforcing the spirit of the brand.

Clues might be either visual or tactile. A hidden safe in the office opens only after the correct code is deciphered. In the dormitory, a peephole concealed behind a painting reveals another member of the missing herd. Throughout, the game is timed — visitors are allotted seven minutes per room, and progress is tracked digitally.

exploring the world of the grooms

Performers dressed as grooms guide participants through the Hermès-designed house, offering in-character hints to the mystery. One of the recurring voices belongs to ‘Mr. Honore,’ a fictional detective who takes his name from the street where the original Hermès store still stands in Paris. His narration, heard through mobile speakers, adds a theatrical backdrop to the search and turns each design vignette into a moment of investigation.

Beyond the installation’s fictional premise, Mystery at the Grooms’ maintains a steady focus on the tactile and material world. Carrots stand in for knives in the refectory, and sculpted leather saddle bags hang beside handbags and handwoven blankets.

Those who succeed in finding the entire herd are offered a parting gift — a notebook and a coloring book, both designed by Hermès. Originally debuted in Shanghai in late 2023, the installation will soon travel on to Tokyo, Singapore, and Paris.