Designer musical chairs are so prominent these days that three years seem a long time. Not enough to build a legacy or change a house but at least get on the radar of the industry as Matthew Williams just found out at Givenchy. Then you can add a zero to the three and you arrive at Véronique Nichanian’s 30 plus year tenure as artistic director for Hermès. She is responsible for the world’s most accomplished dandy gent wardrobe which takes the classic codes of outerwear and tailoring and spins them fresh and new every season. She is like a three Michelin star chef using only the best ingredients – here it is leather and cashmere – to concoct her collections. Her strong showing for next winter was a mostly black and navy affair which underlined her new slightly more relaxed silhouette with wider pants and pleats over beautiful leather tops. The different hides were an absolute knock out in trenches, bombers, parkas and long coats which the show notes described as polished calfskin and sheep skin mixed with beautiful knitwear often made from water-repellent cashmere and a cool casting. To bring her oeuvre forward with technical innovations goes without saying but winter always seems a good season for Nichanian who had fun by displacing pockets on most of her outerwear for an arresting visual effect.

The secret of success?

At Hermès, zippers are used to anchor a garment visually apart from the function. Nichanian likes to place them all over her garments– like the pockets – in longer horizontal versions on the chest and waist. Her slightly oversized cabans also looked right on trend with the maxi shapes we have seen.

Best case scenario?

When a house that is known to source only the best animal skins where even a bullet hole hide is rejected offers clothes which make leather look plausible in 2024, it is a rare feat and solely the achievement of Nichanian with her subtle coloring and adjusting of shapes.