Hermès at Burning Man?
That was the vibe at the spring 2023 runway show set around an art installation of giant pink mounds pulsating with light, and techno music thumping.
It might seem far fetched, but with reports about how the ultra-wealthy roll at the nine-day music and art festival in the Nevada desert, arriving in private jets and staying at camps with private chefs, it’s not.
Plus, Hermès has been expanding its universe over the past few years, opening smaller stores in hipster havens like Austin, Texas, and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in addition to more typical luxury flagships like the one that just bowed in a former bank building on Madison Avenue in New York. Moving in more of a lifestyle direction, the brand now has makeup and home, and has been courting influencers with loaner bags and fitness pop-ups.
So Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski brought a bit of Black Rock City to the Paris Tennis Club for the new Hermès customer, imagining a wardrobe assembled from festival accoutrements, including tents, ropes, hammocks and mosquito nets, according to show notes.
But where her fall 2022 collection was very “Emily in Paris” with its bodysuits, HotPants and over-the-knee boots, this did not have as much of an au courant fashion spark.
Hermès has a rich equestrian heritage, but the horses left the building for this one. Instead, daywear in desert hues took a utilitarian turn, with side snap windbreakers and shorts, track pants, racer front tank tops, cropped crochet knits and Hermès butt bags, natch.
Draped dresses cut to fluttery effect, color-blocked or embellished with looping rope stitches, graphic-patterned caftans and mini-dresses didn’t necessarily transmit that luxury feeling, especially in a palette dominated by peach, orange and red.
What did were the leather pieces, including a perforated leather anorak, whipstitched suede minidress, and yummy caramel leather pants worn with a black bodysuit.
Most mind blowing, however, was how Vanhee-Cybulski reimagined the iconic house bags, including the Kelly to Go…with electric-bright feathers. For the rare bird, indeed.
