Hermès sauntered casually onto the schedule yesterday in Paris, closing PFW, and the renowned brand, known for their lucrative slow and steady approach, capped off the season with real luxury, the kind of luxury so confident it’s completely devoid of all clutter and any gimmicks.
Production at Hermès has always been centred on craftsmanship, and seasoned design force Christophe Lemaire, who has remained entirely in sync with the labels origins and authentic values since 2010, propounded the understated cool of chic uniformed wool suits this season, in cultivated olive, navy and brunet hues, which spoke for a man who likes his designs to suggest and not shout.
While orderly, yet sensual, feminine suits, and casual skirted reworkings, commandeered the bare, pastoral catwalk, unconstrained dresses decorated with a rustic, folklorish floral print scarcely referenced the brand’s supreme heritage, which, evidently, a designer can never go wrong with. Complete suits composed of leaden Astrakhan that would ordinarily make a brash statement, here became relaxed, tailored for the business-minded female, and consummated with leathery, clear-cut pumps.
Hermès’ homely, family-orientated slant instantaneously positions the brand upon an enticing ivory tower, and this season it ensured the beauty of the collection, in which extended sleeves were flawlessly calculated, snaky crocodile belts became stylish witty gestures, and swank, blasé, leather dresses made up for the notable lack of legendary Hermès bags.
Nevertheless, a superlative savvy streak, which has contributed to recent soaring sales in the third quarter, resulting in an unprecedented 82 per cent increase in revenue between 2009 and 2013, adhere to AW14’s coherent collection. Make sure to look out for the upcoming Tina bag, only partially revealed this season, the brainchild of snobessentialls handbag connoisseur Tina Craig and Hermès, saw PFW go out in style, suited and equipped for the future.
by Liam Feltham
Images courtesy of Style.com