When they go wide, Hermès goes narrow(ish): Véronique Nichanian delivered a collection this afternoon that she described as “dandy chic” with a twist of “English fantasy”—but it had a tougher edge, too. It also contained one of the slimmer tailoring silhouettes (along with Dolce & Gabbana) that we’ve seen during this season.
The palette was a series of putties and grays with the odd foray into violet, lime and blue before a long closing evening section in black. Outerwear saw classics remixed in subtle ways, partly through leather accents: the addition of a rubberized panel to a caban and a duffle coat gave them a tougher, donkey jacket aspect. There was a slick series of pieces in blue-shot Prince of Wales check including a hybrid material black calfskin jacket and taper-legged suiting worn over chromatically colored knitwear or a diagonally patterned tie.
A pale violet half-zip in leather, a black A-2 flight jacket also in leather and a black shawl collared shearling coat were among the many ideal iterations of various menswear forms on display. There were two interesting long black leather coats, belted, whose pocket placement made them resemble the responsible elder brother of a perfecto. Knitwear featured mixed argyle patterns: menswear anarchy. The apparently unaligned waistband on a pair of suiting trousers worn below a silvery silk evening shirt with an asymmetrical collar was similarly low-key radical. Accessories included crocodile belts and boots, amulet-like silver necklaces, a patterned deerskin snood, cashmere beanies, and gummed canvas bucket hats. Equestrian print canvas bags edged in leather and Haut à Courroies bags—the ultimate gentleman’s Hermès grail—in three house-developed calfskin treatments. This was another deep dive into the Hermès masculine tradition that delivered some freshly wearable pearls.