Held at the Paris Tennis Club, Hermès Women Ready envelops all the escaping intentions into a spirited outwear reform made out of raincoats and sculpted leather
Hermès 23 Ready to Wear Spring collection is a techno mirage
Dunes are the closest thing we have to extraterrestrial environments. In the upheaval floating desert with the sun razes blushing over shades of boiling dust, dunes connect us with Mars. The desert emptiness invites the imagination to foresee new civilizations.
Within this universe, Hermès showcases athletic femininity and sober fluidity with sharp silhouettes adorned by IT accessory elements. As attested by Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski, the Maison’s creative director, «the Hermès girls are taking a bivouac, a big hike in the desert, and setting up a camp at sunset to have a party, a big rave».
Presented at the Tennis Club de Paris, the Hermès collection looked stripped out of the glamour, its drastically practical elements contrasting the mainstream show-oriented fashion catwalks.
Inspired by faraway places, the womenswear ready-to-wear looks evoke «a dance in the desert, where the daylight gives way to the acid-bright shades of dusk». Walking down the dune-crowded arcades, the models revamped a clean girl aesthetic, with their hair loose and untangled, sometimes pulled back from the glowy complexions.
Remaining loyal to the ‘quite luxury’ voice of the house, Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski composed the Hermès Femme uniform from moire silks, lambskin, or silk knit in warm, sandy tones. Alluring and comforting, they «speed by the passing hours, coursing over agile and ethereal looks inhabited by lightness».
Detail report. All the micro-moments from Hermès 23 Spring looks
Is radiant essentialism the new casual chic? For the Hermès 23 Spring womenswear line, the creative director at the helm of the brand is all about the female gaze. The collection gravitates around adjustability and efficiency in women’s wardrobes, puzzling up a style catering to self-conscious buyers. Zippers, adjustable chords, and pockets aligned with raincoats and breathable meshes confirm Vanhee-Cybulski’s inspiration from outdoor equipment and its functional details.
Embracing the rise of elevated sportswear and leisurewear, Hermès reshapes the equestrian vigor earned by heritage into a more modern silhouette language. By doing so, the creative designer achieves a timelessness of design with its structure roughly outlined by any identity. It becomes Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski’s purpose to mold women’s garments in a charismatically serious style, assuming the quality of high craftsmanship over striking artifice. Daring sensuality overpowers the atmosphere with geometric spasms and glitched prints amplifying the soft-tech effect.
The color palette recreates the depths of the desert
Papaya and terra-cotta hues, almost stolen from Italian rooftops, evolve into cherry reds contrasted by egg-shell whites and flamingo pinks. The color palette recreates the depths of the desert, recording the sun-light swings. There’s little jewelry, taking the form of rounded leather collars and earrings. Truth be told, Hermès has never been well known for its gems, but it did become famous for its bags. They overtake the scene in the 23 Spring collection as well.
Taking from the saddle shape, the Arcon bag opens the show in its sophisticated simplicity crafted in the characteristic Barenia fawn leather the Hermès house is highly renowned for. A classic Kelly Elan File clutch covered in light feathers of vibrant oranges and blacks confesses to elegance and the right amount of extravagance. Red, black, or brunette shoes predict the trends for the upcoming summer. Platforms borrow the vitality of kangoo jumping extensions while the whole design becomes a reiteration of warrior sandals with raw alignments made of calfskin and carbon soles.
Between legacy and future trends
After the Second World War, Hermès appropriated their shrill orange tone. The only color available on the market at the time – it became a synonym for luxury and superior artisanship, remaining so even today. While not registered by Pantone, the color tingles on the customer collective consciousness, with collectors being able to differentiate the veridicality of Hermès products only by the depth of the packaging’s orange tone. To evoke and entertain the thread of history Hermès holds on to, Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski chose a symbolic color palette with earthy orange derivatives.
According to WGSN, one of the most resourceful trend forecasting companies, the color of the year 2024 will be no other than Apricot Crush. «Cultivating a hopeful and positive mindset has become a powerful coping mechanism for consumers. Care, connection, and community underpins our Color of the Year, which also calls to mind the nutritional properties of vitamin- and antioxidant-rich oranges and apricots». This romantic and persuasive orange tonality is as much about optimism as resilience. And what is the Hermès woman if not a wandering adventurer with a soft, dreamy side to pill off?
Overcutet undershirts, rave raincoats styled over matching caps and H-shaped tops are some of the other trends that might overtake daily outfits during the warm season. The show audience received 3D glasses, enabling another level of participation and observation for the rigorously asymmetrical dresses. The public could now experience a complete immersion into the garment’s prints.
Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski at Hermès. Fashion design from a female perspective
Hermès is an established luxury Maison founded in 1837. It prolongs its somewhat conservative imaginary and quality caliber in craftsmanship. Yet, it conveys little to no innovative attempts on the fashion design scene, well aware of how everything new today has been already old yesterday. The element of surprise is rooted in consistency and faithful self-awareness, while it realized two of the most recognized bags in the world.
The Kelly and the Birkin bags are the keys to understanding Hermès’ essence. They were ideated for women’s needs, filling up a market gap and responding to practical desires rather than whimsical fantasies. Hermès 23 Spring collection stays true to its nature with Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski composing mannered assemblies of mixed-media dresses, high-waisted skirts alongside organized silk jerseys, and sports trousers.
Modern and progressive, the Ready to Wear collection was a renewed vow to the house’s mastery in leather work, concealing micro-cuts and overlaps that would look like sequins.
Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski, the house’s creative director since 2015, is one of the few women to uphold managing design positions in the industry. Not a celebrity or influence-seeking creator, she developed her techniques and sensibility while working for Maison Margiela, Celine, and The Row, establishing a gentle signature aesthetic. She keeps pursuing sustainable principles continuing the ‘petit h’ project, allowing artisans to transform discarded leather, silk, porcelain, or even horsehair into luxury objects.
Hermès
It is a French luxury design house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear.
