Hermès rubbed Glass up in just the right direction late last week at the Silk Ball in London, so we are all feeling rather good about them at the moment. What has become most apparent is the brand’s elements of playful recondite and accordingly exclusive reverie, no more so than after yesterday’s SS15 menswear offering. Tailor-made for the Hermès man about the world, the new collection still had this tinge of thrill however mellowed the cool natural tones made it.
In fact, it was all about the cool collected ensemble this season, one of the leisurely type, somewhat sporty without the perspiry exertion, and just a little daring, all tied together with a running Hermès scarf leitmotif. This was when the dainty florals emerged, manly however in their witty kink, muffling most of the more sensible choices in the collection. Creative director Véronique Nichanian clearly had the most fun though when throwing together the pattern-clash combos which worked so well they actually transcended the stigma of ‘clashing’, jolted with sneaky glints of a bashful silk scarf in classic Hermès hues of fuschia, orange and azure blue.
She even teetered on the artsy side with those “fractured” abstract prints and added some interesting layers to a promising set of garments. By the end, as usual, the march of the exotic skins and fantasy fabrics ushered all the allure once again. Treated calfskin, two-tone lambskin, crocodile and fine cashmeres all snuck under the radar of the untrained eyes but stuck out to those spectators with a trained eye who know the distinction is in the detail.
by Liam Feltham
Images courtesy of Style.com