Romance and utility. Rarely do the twain meet. But both were on Nadège Vanhée’s mind as she developed her new collection for Hermès. She said she was thinking about twilight, the “liminal realm” between day and night, or vice versa, and the possibilities it holds. “It’s a moment of changes, of movement,” she said. It inspired her palette, which began with the hot colors of sunset before shading into deep red, the green flash when the giant orb dips below the horizon, and finally dark blue and gray-black. And it also shaped the silhouette, which was narrow and aerodynamic, accented with pockets and zips, allowing for ease as well as control.
The collection, said Vanhée, was “resolutely about modernism and how you can infuse modernity with a sense of fluidity or sensuality, and also the question of female agency.” Naturally, all the zips could be adjusted as a wearer wishes, and there were stretch shorts to slip on underneath an A-line miniskirt so a woman can really hit her stride (though the shorts would be more challenging to pull off on their own). Jodhpurs in place of traditional tailored trousers nodded at the house’s horsey heritage and kept the lines long and lean. On the subject of agency, Vanhée built her winter jackets and coats with removable shearling collars, and a pair of leather coats were designed with zippers that spiraled around the torso and hips. “You can conceal and be absolutely sexy,” she noted. “It’s about revealing and concealing. And it’s not a dichotomy. It’s definitely a tandem.”
The collection’s sole print, quilted onto a zip-front shirtdress with knit sleeves, was adapted from a design by the Art Deco–era artist and poster maker A.M. Cassandre. Perspective depicts a cloud-dotted sky beyond an abstract tower; looking at it is a bit like gazing into the future. Unfolding before her, Vanhée has the launch of Hermès’s haute couture next year. One more reason to be sanguine.