Hermès. Just saying the word has that soft glow of true luxury, the kind of anti-fashion timelessness that exists so far outside the rigmarole of seasonal trends and hyped fashion. These clothes will always be renditions on the classics we know so well, mainly because they’re designed and handcrafted to last forever. That’s increasingly rare at a time when luxury brands are snowballing towards fast-paced collections that are defined by their price and image rather than how and why they’re made.
Set in an oval space with twinkling soft lights that looked like a constellation in the night sky, full of softness and warmth. David Bowie played as the first few looks came out: luscious suede sprinkled with embellishment to evoke a telescope’s viewpoint.
The house’s instantly-recognisable silk scarves were tuned into long-sleeved T-shirts, tucked into straight-cut leather pencil skirts. Leather tailoring and generously-pocketed double-faced cashmere coats followed, often punctuated with some of those Hermès bags that most people would give a kidney for. There was even a polished take on the puffa jacket, an item that has become ubiquitous in recent seasons. Because this was Hermès, it was perfect in its proportions with varying levels of puffiness to flatter, not swaddle.
We’ve seen several designers riffing on the archetypes of bourgeois good taste this season, offering up familiar clothes that are often with imbued with the sentimental warmth of the ‘70s, an era when women’s clothes were practical and flattering. It begs the question: why now? The answer may be that the pendulum is swinging back to something more refined and concrete in its objective quality. Graphic prints, appropriated streetwear and feathers-and-frou-frou is starting to seem a little done — they’re also a big departure when it comes to spending a lot of money on something that is instantly recognisable as right-this-minute. It’s a time to ask ourselves: “Will I still love you tomorrow?”
For both a younger and older generation of fashion pundits, simple and straightforward clothes are starting to feel new again. Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski puts craft first, cool second. Her Hermès whispers, it never shouts. As more fashion brands accelerate towards blinged-out magpie eclecticism and of-the-moment collaborations, perhaps that feeling of quiet consideration is the new anti-clickbait cool.
