October 3, 2016 |
Would it be wrong to call these a glamorous set of lady car mechanics? This was a conclusion we came to at Hermes’ SS17 show, mainly on account of that boiler suit, a garment that appeared in various forms throughout the collection, and was actually, being as this was an Hermes show, nothing like an actual boiler suit at all, apart from the fact that it was all-in-one and vaguely utilitarian. Well, it had pockets and zips and things. Because naturally, this was a super-luxurious take on workwear, so luxurious that if you doing such menial things as, well, work then you probably can’t afford it anyway. Elsewhere, the silhouette echoed the shape of the boiler suit – zip-up shirting, with a kind-of 50s, Pink lady shape, worn with high-waisted trousers, wide, but cropped at the ankle. And on the Hermes mechanic’s person, not grubby old toolbelt – yeugh! – but a selection of finely crafted leather bags. Some were teeny-tiny and circular, like coin purses, hung on chains, other were perfectly formed mini briefcases, with an H-fastening. But amongst this there was a sense of what we’ll call a “mature femininity”, a feeling that Hermes have been mining of late. Not mature in the sense of well, old, or resigned to doing your shopping down M&S, but the kind of maturity that comes with purchasing pieces to last a lifetime – perfectly pleated skirts that revealed Hermes prints when the models walked, butter-soft leather jackets, richly embroidered fabrics. It was finished off with a deft use of colour – pink, Paris’ favourite this week, but also gentle yellow and crisp white, offered alongside a more muted black and grey. Final notes: uncompromisingly luxurious. And expensive. Which naturally means we want it all immediately.
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans
