Hermes Shows Fall Collection With Strong Retail Appeal

Our locks have long inspired art, from masterpiece paintings, aka ‘The Birth of Venus’ or music from one of the most popular hippie musicals, Hair. The musical’s theme song touts “long, beautiful hair, shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen…..down to there (hair), shoulder length or longer (hair)” in its lead song. Thanks to the designer Nadege Vanhee-Cybulksi of Hermes, it’s officially inspired a Fall Winter 2023 clothing collection.

Speaking to reporters post-show, Vanhee-Cybulski explained that the monochromatic show in mainly earthy tones was about hair. “When I began, it was about the colour of different and hues women; red hair, warm finishes, and jet black; I wanted to play with the complexities and symbolism. You can be male or female, and it expresses your beauty; hair is power, seduction, and magic,” she said.

When developing the ultra-rich textiles the house and collection are known for, Vanhee-Cybulksi sought to recreate it in fiber. “I took something that can be trivial but worked with it in a structural way,” she continued adding, “I sent some hair to some fashion mills to replicate the complex structures of the cashmere fibers and in the draping of fabrics thinking about the ways you twist, braid, or wear your hair,” she explained.

The process is presumably noticed best close-up but evidenced on the runway, for instance, was a leather cording weaving as cable knits on sweaters or in the slinky fringe-like effect on silk lame that the designer explained also referenced couture house of the 1920s such as Poiret and Vionnet. As expected, with sleek jet-black hair, the ebony-inspired looks were dominated by leather which gave off an air of insouciant cool.

Like the comfort and security of well-kept tresses, the objective of this collection was to envelop. “I think this collection is more introverted; it’s winter you want to be wrapped up in your coat and autumn colors. The idea came from taking the stereotypes of a wardrobe such as blanket coat and integrating knitwear that wraps around you,” she continued. Also enveloped were the round bucket bags with pin-straight horsehair fanning out their perimeter.

Those chronal looks often included luscious, belted coats over thick knits that twisted and tied around the body. The multi-layered looks also mimicked the popular haircuts of the same ilk with flaps, plackets, and hemlines, creating different levels on the looks themselves.

Imagine a teased-out bouffant hair-do, and the waves and valleys it takes can help describe the series of sculpted knit tunics paired with loose biker-length shorts. The effect displays the houses’ textile sophistication. However, the look may be best left to those whose financial station and position allow them not to turn a hair concerning others’ impressions.

What Vanhee-Cybulksi may have captured best was that gleaming shiny hair that The Cowsills sang about in that 1960s musical. She explained that she was also thinking about the red metal copper. “I thought about how it’s pliable and has a strong memory,’ she offered.

To that end, after appearing as a glistening red skirt on a day look, a series of cape-sleeved dresses that draped like fringe but were a uniform piece of finely pleated cloth comprised the dramatic evening wear finale in shades of metallic hues once again mimicking hair. The sleek, beaming robes were a statement that would beg for the kind of hair that does not distract.