Belt-up

Hermès FW17
By Alex James Taylor | Fashion | 23 January 2017

With Hermès you don’t need to check the label to know that the quality of material and craftsmanship is first-rate. It’s obvious in the way the clothes fit, move and feel: pure luxury. Inside the grandiose Salle Pleyel symphonic concert hall, artistic director Véronique Nichanian’s FW17 offering built on the subtle yet refined work she has been doing since she joined the fashion house in 1988.

From the opening look – a belted wrap-around trench with asymmetrical buttoning crafted in brown alpaca broadcloth and paired with a cashmere turtle neck knit – a precedent was set.  Highly covetable outerwear continued throughout, from suede bombers to wrap-around houndstooth coats through sleeveless bikers and one particular velvet number tied at the waist and finished with a white shearling collar that would look just as good worn by Robert Plant or Robert Redford: it’s all about presence. And those lush fabrics we spoke of earlier? 6-ply cashmere, velvet, suede goatskin, soft lambskin, cotton gabardine, and wool with satin detailing.

For Nichanian, less is more and the themes that recur from one season to the next shape a discrete but ultimately synonymous signature that Hermès customers just can’t get enough of.

GALLERYBackstage images from Hermes FW17

GALLERYCatwalk images from Hermes FW17





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