Even though the world is slowly beginning to open up again, travel still remains a distant dream. And with those border restrictions still in place, Paris Fashion Week – which starts on 9 July – is going fully digital. French luxury maison Hermes kicked things off with a stunning seven-minute filmic performance that was created in collaboration with French director Cyril Teste.
Instead of getting the models to walk down a runway and live-streaming it to the world, Hermes brought the viewer backstage, giving you a sneak peek into the controlled chaos that goes on during a fashion show. You can see artistic director Veronique Nichanian make slight adjustments to a model’s fit, hear a member of the crew calling two male models to get ready to walk the runway, and even witness a duo take a quick selfie of themselves before parting.
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It’s a choreographed performance, of course, but it allows the viewer to get up close and personal to the Spring/Summer 2021 menswear collection, including a lingering shot at what seems like an updated rendition of a Slim D’Hermes timepiece with a gorgeous coffee-coloured leather strap.
The collection itself is classic Nichanian, and by extension, classic Hermes. Veronique Nichanian is the longest-serving non-founding designer of a fashion house, having been in the position for 31 years – an anomaly in a world that regularly turns over creative directors every three years or so. The beauty of Hermes menswear is in its subtlety – pops of colour on fabrics that will make your skin sing with joy, rendered in silhouettes that never strays too far into extremes. Nichanian is not a fan of overt branding and prefers to let her clothes do the talking.
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The Spring/Summer 2021 menswear collection doesn’t shout, unlike a number of other luxury brands that have eschewed minimalism for excess. But the clothes are beautiful, well-constructed and most importantly, can be worn five years from now and still look as timeless as when they first appeared.
If you have seven minutes to spare, we recommend re-watching the Hermes filmic performance above.
This article first appeared in The Peak.
