Hermès creative director Nadège Vanhée always has her finger on the pulse; looking at the crowd at the fashion shows this season, it’s been a sea of leather clothing, which has been a hot commodity on the vintage market, too.
Hermès clearly has a legacy when it comes to the trend, so it’s only natural that Vanhée would lean into it. There was a lot of leather in the fall 2025 collection. But funnily enough, backstage she wasn’t wearing any. Instead, she was sporting a Patagonia fleece, “The American Hermès,” she quipped.
She rattled off menswear and tailoring as inspirations, and wanting to forge classics. Indeed, the collection felt like an exploration of the icons of an uber-rich wardrobe, in keeping with the house’s positioning under her tenure as a real ready-to-wear player.
If an Hermès bag is the ne plus ultra of accessories, Vanhée was trying to create the same in clothing, riffing on the ultimate leather equestrian jacket, bomber, pants and shorts, the ultimate blanket coat, denim jacket, mannish trousers, skinny trousers, twinset, sexy tight dress and on and on.
Held as usual at the Garde Republicaine, with the ground covered in what looked like peat moss, the show went at a fast clip, with models racing around the maze-like runway so fast you could barely take in the details, striding confidently as if they had places to be and things to do.
It made me think that the ultimate luxury must be not having to worry about clothes, because, as it said in the show notes, “she has everything she needs.” The idea being she has a wardrobe for every home, perhaps, and that if it’s Hermès, it’s the best, and there is no need to worry about the rest.
There were a few sleepers, but overall, Vanhée succeeded in continuing her steady run of covetable classics for the .0001 percent with things for grandmothers and mothers and daughters who have the means and inclination to invest in Hermes quilted leather short shorts.
A glossy glove lambkin leather shirt and trousers were sleek and gorgeous, while a cropped sleeveless, backless cashmere top and matching long fingerless gloves redefined the twinset. Denim was interfaced with leather for a structured look, and a cyprus green dress with brogue style leather inserts was just the touch of weird needed.
The new teeny tiny Petit Sac, not much larger than a coin purse, was slung over the shoulder with many of the looks, the high heel brogues the key shoe, along with the equestrian boot. Hermes did indeed have the wardrobe covered, all except a Patagonia fleece. Not yet.
