Fashion pundits may have decried the death of Quiet Luxury. Still, those who genuinely relish exquisite craftsmanship and high-quality goods and materials know it has been around and will continue as trends come and go. Hermès is a testimony to this, as the luxury brand established in 1837 has outlived plenty of quality labels. For the Autumn Winter 2025 men’s collection, Artistic Director Véronique Nichanian established this idea again; the effort showed how far superior materials, craftsmanship, and design acumen tinged with wit can go.
The designer played with the idea that our clothes should make us feel at home and welcomed, especially in winter’s bitter chill. Nichanian addressed a cozy feeling with fuzzy mohairs, alpacas, and shearlings interspersed with waxed leathers in several styles. One stunner was an elongated zip front bomber jacket that featured patchwork shearling mimicking jockey’s racing silks, long an essential code for the brand’s creative vision. Other manifestations of comfort came from racing silk patterned blankets as wool lining in overcoats.
Cozy also came in the form of lush velvet suiting for night. The suits were particularly interesting as men’s suits don’t tend to dominate a Hermès runway, but its Bespoke suits do a brisk business.
More comforting aspects were the prevalence of a warm balaclava attached to chunky knitwear and layered with bomber jackets and other leather coats, which gave clothes a bit of a streetwear vibe, however, elevated.
Show notes pointed to a softening of silhouette just within reach of retaining the garment lines and proportions from short coats and long coats paired with pencil-thin pants or fuller styles to add architectural interest to the clothes. A new leather treatment called ‘pique cire’ on duffle coats, long overcoats, and boxy racing jackets had a slick appearance and piqued interest for these pieces. Racing silks also appeared as intarsia knits on sweaters and outerwear, as did a diagonal line and square motif pulled from classic marquetry, all adding to the interest.
Nichanian’s oeuvre of materials and how she mixes them also added to the more overt outing. If this is Hermès idea of home, it’s a place destined for many chic connoisseurs to inhabit.
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