Answer first
Capucine is a Hermes color. It is a red-orange. Swift is a Hermes calfskin. It is soft and smooth. Fastoche is not a Hermes model, color, or leather. In French, fastoche is slang for easy. A listing with all three words points to a replica bag in Capucine color with a Swift-type leather.
hermes forged capucine fastoche swift
Capucine: the color
Capucine is French for nasturtium, the flower. Hermes uses the word as a color name. The shade reads orange-red in daylight. It is not a true red and not a pink. Capucine appears on the Birkin, Kelly, Constance, and Picotin. Auction houses list Capucine bags in their sale catalogs. Color on a replica depends on the dye lot, not on the color name printed in the listing.
Swift: the leather
Swift is a calfskin with a fine grain and a smooth surface. It has a soft hand and light weight. It takes dye in bright shades, which is why Capucine and other strong colors show up on Swift. Swift scratches. Togo and Epsom hide marks better. Hermes replaced its Gulliver leather with Swift. Sources put that change in the mid-2000s. Swift is not water resistant. Water spots can stay on the surface.
What the replica market uses
- Hermes does not sell wholesale. No factory gets stock from Hermes.
- Replica sellers buy hides from other tanneries. The material is not Swift.
- Labels such as 1:1 and mirror come from sellers. No industry body defines them.
- Hardware is plated. Gold plating thickness varies by seller.
Checks for a Capucine Swift replica
- Look at the color in daylight. Capucine is orange-red. A pure red bag is the wrong shade.
- Check the grain. Swift has a fine grain. A heavy pebble grain is Togo or Clemence.
- Press the leather. Swift gives under a thumb. Epsom stays stiff.
- Count the stitches. Hermes artisans place saddle stitches about 2.5 mm apart.
- Check the stamp. Hermes blind stamps sit in a foil-free area on the front strap.
Cost and law
A new Birkin 25 in Swift sold for about $10,000 in 2024, based on reported retail figures. Hermes does not publish prices online. Replica prices run from about $200 to $1,500 at the top tiers. Importing counterfeit goods into the United States is barred under 19 U.S.C. 1526. Customs can seize a shipment and destroy it.