A few days after announcing the departure of Véronique Nichanian, who had been at the helm of the men’s collections for 37 years, the saddler appointed Grace Wales Bonner, another woman and a leading figure of the new generation of British fashion, to replace her.
Is Hermès one of the few luxury houses that is still inclusive in its recruitment of artistic designers?
The question may seem provocative. But the fact remains that, when the majority of players in the sector—with the exception of Proenza Schouler (Rachel Scott), Bottega Veneta (Louise Trotter), and recently Fendi (Maria Grazia Chiuri)—have replaced their designers with men, the traditional saddler stands out from its peers.
Multiple Awards
He will replace Véronique Nichanian, who has been at the helm of his men’s collections for 37 years, with another woman, Grace Wales Bonner, who is also of mixed race.
While designers of color (such as the late Virgil Abloh and Pharell Williams at Louis Vuitton) had already joined the ranks of the greats, this was not yet the case for their female counterparts.
But this was undoubtedly not a deciding factor for Hermès, which is unlikely to go wrong in appointing the 35-year-old British designer. The fashion house, headed by Pierre-Alexis Dumas, was surely more impressed by the young woman’s talent, which has been recognized with the most prestigious awards in Paris, New York, and London: the LVMH Prize for Young Designers in 2016, the CFDA International Men’s Designer of the Year Award in 2021, and finally, the Emerging Menswear Designer Award and British Designer of the Year for Menswear at the British Fashion Awards in 2015 and 2024.
Rapid recognition
Grace Wales Bonner, born in London to a Jamaican father and English mother, has quickly made a name for herself.
In 2014, fresh out of the renowned Central Saint Martins, she wasted no time in launching her own brand, Wales Bonner, dedicated to menswear, to which she added a womenswear line four years later.
She quickly made a name for herself with her sensitive and intellectual exploration of a sophisticated, multicultural fashion, combining supposed opposites such as black masculinity and cultural diversity, African and European influences, feminine and masculine, translation and modernity, couture and sportswear.
Her rich universe and the elegance of her silhouettes caught the attention of the biggest names in fashion, and she collaborated with luxury houses (such as Dior for the 2020 cruise collection, Manolo Blahnik, and Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard) and brands such as Adidas (for whom she launched a capsule collection in 2020 called “luxury sportswear from an Afro-Atlantic perspective”).
Already exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum!
Her cultural approach has even earned her exhibitions in London at the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Serpentine Gallery!
Many fashion critics cited her as a likely recruit to head up a major fashion house. However, her name had not yet emerged during the major creative shake-up currently affecting the luxury sector.
This recently led Sarah Mower (Vogue Runway) to take offense and ask, “Why haven’t influential and talented women like Grace Wales Bonner and her elder Martine Rose been hired by a fashion house or brand yet?” She saw this as “less of a mystery than a total shame.” Hermès apparently shared this opinion.
And the saddler did not pass up the opportunity to hire someone considered to be one of the leading representatives of the new generation of British fashion.
Grace Wales Bonner thus completes the Hermès artistic team, already consisting of Nadège Vanhee for the women’s collections and Pierre Hardy for the creation of shoes, jewelry, and beauty products, supervised by Pierre-Alexis Dumas, the global artistic director.
The newcomer will present her very first men’s fashion show for the saddler in January 2027.
Read also > Hermès: Véronique Nichanian bows out
Featured photo: © Hermès
