Hermès Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2011

Double breasted & leather were the most important aspects of the new Hermes menswear collection. Suit jackets and coats in any kind of material were all double breasted. Even the leather ones, which – together with several pairs of leather pants (in black, green and Burgundy) – could be seen throughout the whole collection. There even was a army green leather overall, which looked extremely thick and heavy.

According to Hermes other hot items for next fall are the lammy coat, checked suits, hooded jackets, printed scares and turtle neck sweaters. We saw some models in surprisingly bright versions of the turtle neck (yellow and turquoise) passing by.

One thing we know for sure; the Hermes man won’t be freezing his butt off wearing clothes from this ultimate winter-proof collection.

Highlights Paris Fashion Week SS2011

The fact that fashion shows are becoming more of a spectacle every year became especially clear in Paris. Like always Chanel’s show area was mind blowing. Also, Kenzo’s fortieth anniversary at Cirque d’Hiver was a show to remember. Then we had Viktor and Rolf with their enormous wedding dresses and beautifully illustrated backdrop. And of course there were the horses at Hermes and there was Beth Ditto’s runway début at Jean Paul Gaultier.

As for the fashion, Paris felt a bit more punky and raw (Balenciaga, Ackermann). Plus we saw many minimalistic shows like Chloé, Celine, Costume National and Stella McCartney (partly).

Lanvin
Alber Elbaz’ collection for Lanvin was everything we’d expected and more. He designed gorgeous feminine and asymmetric dresses and flowing skirts women actually want to wear. He used pleating and draping, yet made his designs very body tight too.

Givenchy
For next spring Givenchy felt rather dark, punk and techno. There was a lot of black and white, long silhouettes and sleeveless statements jackets. Tisci chose sheer and leopard printed fabrics and added lots of zippers to his creations. It all felt daring, new and very appropriate for the Givenchy girl.

Stella McCartney
Celebs like Salma Hayek, Beth Ditto, Liv Tyler and father Paul McCartney all witnessed the great show of Stella McCartney. The designer came up with a mix of minimalistic and ultra-sexy clothing. Therefore manly en feminine silhouettes alternated each other. The sober looks, as well as the fruit printed outfits (a new trend also seen at Moschino and Prada) all seemed great for next season.

Haider Ackermann
Ackermann’s fashion show ended with lots of applause from the audience and he sure deserved it. His elegant and modern collection was very impressive. There was lots of leather. Long skirts were narrow and sleeves motor-jackets looked tough. Shoulders were small and razor-shape and his signature cropped jackets often had an open back. The color-palette of black, royal reds & blues and a shot of yellow were a perfect match.

Balenciaga
Ghesquiere’s collection for Balenciaga felt very streetwise. The fact that he had scouted six models straight from the streets might have had something to do with that. Those six girls as well as Stella Tennant, Carolyn Murphy, a pregnant Miranda Kerr and Gisele Bundchen wore his pied de cock dresses in black, white, blue and red. There were colorful printed sleeves blouses, asymmetric tops and there was quilted leather. The overall look was boyish and felt very Balenciaga.

Hermès Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2011

It was the last collection Jean Paul Gaultier designed for Hermès and it was a good one. The show started by horses galloping through the show area bringing up Hermes’ heritage.

Again lots of (broad brimmed) hats and lots of leather. Yet this time in a softer color palette of camel, sand, beige and cognac, which immediately turned the masculine suits in more feminine clothing.

The pants were loose and long, the jackets had accentuated shoulders. Pieces of leather tied around the waist resembled corsets, but still looked tough.

Every look was timeless and perfectly lived up to the house’s name.

Hermès Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

The Hermès show was as quiet and luxurious as the label can be. It just simply doesn’t need to scream fashion. It whispers. But when you listen carefully it tells you all everything you should know about next season’s way of dressing: the white suits, the lightweight fabrics, the shorts, the honey-colors,  the sandals, the summer-leather and suede and an accent in an intense color. The modern touch was added by ‘hybrid’ clothing: a shirt with a blouson back or diagonal zip-closure.

Jackets were unlined, scarves were knotted around the neck and the pleated trousers looks casual but dressed. Tobacco brown and emerald-green spiced up the mineral-base palette.

Gaultier for Hermès: an overview

Today the news came through that designer Jean Paul Gaultier will leave Hermès, the brand for which he has been designing for seven years. Though Gaultier will design one more spring collection for the French fashionlabel, we thought it would be nice to look back upon seven years of Gaultier for Hermès.

We selected the most eye-catching pieces of clothing and accessories Gaultier has been designing the past seven years. With every show Gaultier was able to amaze us; theywere great fun as well. The cultural themes of his shows made his collections look even more powerful, but he still managed to let the clothes remain classy.

The styling of the shows was always over the top with lots of great accessories and a different hat-style every season. We’re sure Gaultier had a lot of fun working for Hermes, and we think he did a great job too.

Now let’s wait and see if Christopher Lemaire is able to equal that at Hermès…

Gaultier is leaving Hermès

After seven years, Jean Paul Gaultier is leaving Hermès. He will be replaced by Christophe Lemaire, who has been designing for Lacoste since 2000. Gaultier will show one more spring collection for Hermès in october. The French house will continue to support Gaultiers business.

Hermès Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2010

It looked as if Jean Paul Gaultier wanted to stress the origins of the Hermès fashionlabel. There was leather everywhere in the collection, which was inspired by the British 60’s television serie The Avengers.

A not-too-great-looking Lily Cole opened the show in a black leather pantsuit, zipped on the front. The rest of her outfit was made from leather as well: shoes, belt, gloves, bag. Even her bowler hat and umbrella could easily have had some leather parts.

Some crocodile leather followed, on a skirt, a belt, a pair of trousers and a jacket. After that, the leather designs became so thick they seemed more appropriate for men. Especially when the (leather!) ties and the extra-wide pants came by, the show got a very masculine feeling.

Fortunately shades of light gray, camel and brown softened the looks. Just when one of the models came on carrying a New York Times under her arm (slightly pushing Suzy Menkes, who works for the newspaper, to write a good review on the show).

Most of the woolen coats that followed, had leather collars in a different shade. A beige toggle coat popped up out of nowhere, shoulders were accentuated by leather parts and a long leopard printed skirt was seen from under a stiff leather jacket. And though we were happy most labels temporarily said goodbye to this specific animal print it later came by on several dresses, a coat, a blouse and even on one of the two hoop skirts.

There was so much animal material in this collection any PETA activist would have gone mad watching this show. Even we could hardly handle the amount of leather JPG sent off on the runway. Yet we did get very inspired on how many ways there are to wear it.

Paris Catwalk Fashion Show fw2010: Hermès

For next winter Veronique Nichanian designed a qualitative and diversified menswear collection for Hermès. Just like many desigers Veronique opted for gray as the main color. Though she added some red, blue, green and black.

The Hermès models were well-dressed and much attention was paid to every little detail. From the floral scarfs to the handkerchiefs in the breast-pockets and the chains attached to the trousers.

The collection had velours jackets, turtle necks, woolly cardigans, leather pants and jackets with zippers that were only zipped in the middle.

Over a few coats the models wore a sophisticated leather belt and their large scarfs were tied in a particular way. Two snake leather jackets were real showpieces.

Altogether it was a solid collection with very wearable designs.

Trends ss2010: Eyecatching sportswear

Next spring will be great fun for the sporty types. A number of brands introduced some remarkable sportswear. Eyecatching were the pieces Asish showed during London Fashion Week. Most of the sportswear he came up with was sequined from the bottom to the top. What a great way to distract your opponents at the footballfield! The sequins formed the image of a football and that of Mona Lisa. The Nike slogan ‘Just do it’ also appeared  in sequins. At the fashion show for Hermès the runway was changed into a tenniscourt. The models wore classic sportswear in blue or red with white lines. Those lines seemed to be the new element in sportswear since Marc Jacobs, Bottega Veneta and Lacoste used them too. Alexander Wang showed some great (‘timeless’, as he calls it himself) sportswear. His grey sweater with brown suede shoulders looked refreshing. Most designers completed their looks with a sporty headband or a cap. Playing sports was never this much fun! (Tess van Daelen)

Hermes Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

Jean Paul Gaultier took us to the tennis club, where he presented more than fifty hot new Hermès looks. The catwalk had white lines on it and the girls all wore headbands in colors matching their outfits. In some of the clothes (short white, beige or lavender skirts, shorts, polo’s and cardigans) the girls could actually play a good game of tennis. The rest of the outfits (long halterdresses, trouser suits and chiffon tops) were perfect for chilling along the sideline. Though the clothes were very diverse Gaultier showed a cohesive collection of classic/sporty pieces. He used classic color-combinations of red, white and navy-blue. Great leather pieces came in beautiful chestnut brown. The models wore big bangles (colored or silver) and fingerless gloves. They carried small clutches and the famous Birkin bags. One of them even had a tennis-touch to it with a long band, a special part to put the tennisballs in. (Tess van Daelen)

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