On her design process at Hermès, Creative Director of Menswear Veronique Nichanian, has said “I design one piece like an object and after I design the pants, the jacket, the sweater. I mix them together. Each garment works separately.” It’s this modular approach to a luxury wardrobe that the designer has pursued since her inception at the house in 1988. As other places in the same game reframe luxury through collaborations and their eyes firmly fixed on the street; Nichanian has been rethinking luxury the Hermes way for years. And it’s working. She’s, arguably, the most successful menswear designer working in luxury today. Her subtle and touch-conscious aesthetic chimes with the needs of a modern man. The house’s cashmere classic knits are repeat buys for clients, the shoes as well. Each store has a personal shopper, who service multiple wardrobes for multiple houses.
This the real deal. For autumn, more next-level luxury and coats, lots of great coats and big business for the menswear market everywhere. One puffa came with a silver interior – you’re going to leave this one open. The bomber – something she’s made her own – came in butter-soft leather; a two-way zip with oversized pull gave it some seriously chic-looking hardware. The trenches were faultless: how does Nichanian do this? They were fuss-free and the pockets angled “just so” and belted. So far so trench. But they weren’t. They were special. The show is playing on the brand’s website: see this for more. And, of course there were bags – lots of bags. The best was a large tan Birkin – it was just incredible. The price of a mega yacht, of course, but these men don’t need to worry about money. This is Hermès, sunshine.
Photography by Jason Lloyd- Evans.
