Hermès Is Embracing Fashion’s Lighter Side

Hermès creative director Nadège Vanhée took the cozy, streamlined aesthetic of leather weather and refracted it back through a lighter lens for spring/summer 2027. The show took place this afternoon inside the palatial, bright white interior of the historic headquarters and main cavalry barracks of the Garde Républicaine in Paris. It kicked off with sheer dresses layered over graphic underpinnings: a key theme for the collection. Next came the structured, utilitarian jackets with an aviator edge and a slew of lightweight tailored coats. The show notes referred to “the shape of air” and “a sky in motion” as inspiration for the silhouettes. Each was designed to be lightweight, floaty, and wearable. Sofía Vergara and Emmy Rossum sat front row.

Vanhée’s tribute to lightness was a manifesto for silhouette and craft, as well as the quiet, toned-down aesthetic of Hermès. Some of the standout pieces were the ones you maybe wouldn’t necessarily glance at twice, like thin openwork knits and gloriously light leather done in striking lattice strips embroidered onto mesh. Materials made the concept come to life, too: jackets made of superfine, paper-thin calfskin and parkas cut in silk pongee for an airy texture and effortless movement.

Hermès, of course, is most well known for its bags, and there was a small selection of them on the runway this time too. But the heart of the collection was the other finishing touches: the reigning accessories and wardrobe workhorses—the belt and the silk scarf, both synonymous with the label’s history. Here, Vanhée gave us all variations of belts, even belt bags and wide, sculptural corset styles. Mimicking this, the belts traversed waists and made their way onto wrists in the form of chunky cuff bracelets. As for the silk scarves, they were integrated into strappy tubelike tops. Others were printed and pleated and trailed out of the fronts of little pilot-inspired jumpsuits.

The bright colors and modernist silhouettes felt like a slight step away from the darker, equestrian aesthetic Hermès has been focused on the last few seasons. While the opening looks of the collection proposed neutrals, the remainder focused on the classic poppy orange hue so well associated with the label. Plus, a dedication to vivid tomato red and punchy scarlets was also present. In fact, the second half of the presentation was a love letter to color, rich in chocolate brown, slate, taxicab yellow, and olive green shades. Vanhée even took her bow at the end of the show wearing various shades of bright red from head to toe.