IN THE SADDLE?: It looks like Hermès has recruited a notable design talent as it prepares to launch into haute couture.
According to sources, French designer Léa Peckre is joining the luxury giant. Her title and start date could not immediately be learned, but it is understood she is to work under Nadège Vanhée, artistic director of women’s ready-to-wear at Hermès since 2014.
Peckre recently wrapped up a five-year stint at Celine as design director of women’s rtw, her LinkedIn page details.
Before that, she designed a collection under her own name and staged several runway shows during Paris Fashion Week.
The graduate of famed Brussels fashion school La Cambre shot to fame in 2011 by winning the main prize at the International Festival of Fashion and Photography in Hyères.
Peckre also won ANDAM’s First Collection prize in 2015 and once designed a capsule collection for French lingerie firm Maison Lejaby.
Hermès has been teasing a foray into haute couture for more than a year. While discussing the company’s fourth-quarter results last month, executive chairman Axel Dumas confirmed the atelier is up and running, but he did not reveal a launch date or other particulars.
“What I saw was superb. I’m really quite excited, and I’m very proud of what the teams have done,” he said at the time. “We’ll be ready when we’ll be ready.”
Peckre could not be reached for comment and Hermès did not respond to a request for comment.
It is understood Grace Wales Bonner, the house’s next menswear creative director, is also in the midst of building out her design team ahead of her runway debut for Hermès in January 2027.