AP – Models walked through an interlocking grey slate rock construction – created to mirror the austere floor inside UNESCO headquarters.
It was a good choice, reflecting the ever-so-slightly harder, utilitarian direction for Hermes this season at the United Nations cultural agency.
A sublime soft grey leather trench opened – selected likely because of its matching colour – with classical loose proportions, non-chalantly tied belt and punk metallic clasp.
“You had me at leather trench” was the comment, uttered by one front-row editor, because the luxuriant garment seemed to sum the entire collection up.
Hermes has become a byword for saleable, unpretentious – and unadulterated – luxury.
Black leather pants were given a subtle twist with a small metal chain on the hip. While broad masculine torsos, round shoulders and sensitive tonal colours throughout – greys, whites, creams, beiges – belied a confidence by designer Veronique Nichanian.
She knows that she doesn’t need to add more than a slight twist to the tried-and-tested formula for the house she’s led since 1988.
