I’m very happy when I meet people in the street, wearing a mix of things from the very last season or 20 years ago. I think now is a great opportunity to express new things with new materials and technologies. “You buy it because you fall in love with the clothes, but after you understand and you realise that [while] it’s expensive, it’s costly. “For me, you create contemporary designs with a timeless spirit,” I respond. At the forefront of the Parisian maison’s menswear vision, is Véronique Nichanian. Not for the number of hours it takes to make Hermès pieces (they’re obviously labour-intensive), but because neither the house nor its designers seem overly concerned with churning out masses of product, nor with making existing models obsolete: the Haut à Courroies, which pre-dates the Birkin, often appears in Nichanian’s men’s collections, as do styles based on the 1923 Bolide, both scaled to masculine size. In recent years, Hermès has travelled from LA to Shanghai to celebrate its extensive menswear offering, with its immersive ‘Step into the Frame’ event. Her astonishing success, says Alexander Fury, is in her honesty.
“It’s long-lasting,” she says.
You are now signed up to the Star Story PreviewShe pauses. I love that because it’s my reality.”Given that love of the past, I wonder if Nichanian takes inspiration from Hermès’ archives? A menswear moment happened yesterday in London. Accordingly, Nichanian’s work has longevity. Even during the weeks of transport strikes and protests that crippled Paris in December and January – pushing down retail turnover around 30 per cent across the capital – a well-formed line still snaked outside an hour before the store was due to open every day. Portraits by François Coquerel While Hermès womenswear has oscillated through different design aesthetics – from the braying, pussy-bowed Sloanes of Eric Bergère through to the purist luxury of Nadège Vanhée-Cybulski – Nichanian has stayed a constant: calmly continuing to create her compelling universe of menswear.Sign up for updates on your favourite topicsAnother luxury: time. It’s far away from the madding crowds of fashion week – or even the madding crowds who relentlessly throng Hermès’ historic flagship at 24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, where the label has had a boutique since 1880. Portraits by François CoquerelWe speak a few days before Nichanian’s follow-up for autumn/winter 2020, presented in January: she’s holed up fitting her collection on phalanxes of flawless models in a spacious modernist house in the snobby 16th arrondissement. It’s more costly than expensive, because every step is expensive.” “I’m here for 30 years, and for 30 years I’m doing the same thing. Véronique Nichanian: the woman behind Hermès’ menswear For 31 years, the designer has led the menswear “universe” with discreet, luxurious designs. “He told me about this vision, what he wanted to make for Hermès, and he said, ‘I want you to take the men’s side and do it as your own.’ I said, ‘OK, let’s start.’” She shrugs, smiles. 1,352 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from ‘veroniquenichanian’ hashtag Nichanian has free rein over the Hermès back catalogue, but when I ask, she shakes her head.
“And I’m still here.”Please enter a correct email addressYou have successfully subscribedFor 31 years, the designer has led the menswear “universe” with discreet, luxurious designs. “I don’t look back. There’s beautiful things, and beautiful ideas, but I want to express something different – modernity.”She knew the brand – then hardly the luxury behemoth it has become today – because her mother bought Hermès scarves. I look forward. After all, those archives are so covetable they have been the subject of theft – in 2014, the Italian designer Massimo Piombo was caught purloining a selection of Hermès samples from a Lyon textile archive belonging to the brand: he was sentenced in 2016 to a suspended prison term of three months and a fine of €15,000. Thank you! Those lines, every day, have helped to drive Hermès’ turnover to €6.88bn in 2019, a 15 per cent increase year-on-year (ready-to-wear and accessories, for men and women, comprise 22.86 per cent of turnover). 185 Likes, 53 Comments - Joseph Carle (@josephcarle) on Instagram: “Back from Poitiers : dark ink cashemere jogging by Hermès homme #hermeshomme By Véronique…”
It’s easy to understand why Nichanian’s clothes have huge consumer appeal. Her astonishing success, says Alexander Fury, is in her honesty. Véronique Nichanian has given me homework.