Show Notes: Hermes Spring Summer 2024
The most number of crop tops seen in a collection by the French luxury house – and still so oh-so-elegant
WHEN: Sept 30, 2023
WHERE: The Garde Républicaine – located in Paris’ fourth arrondissement and a favourite show venue of Hermes for its equestrian connection: It’s the headquarters of the cavalry regiment of the French republican guards. This season, the luxury maison installed a cavernous enclosed room on-site and recreated within a lush golden meadow filled with reeds and dainty white flowers complete with a snaking, sandy path for the runway. (The place smelled fresh and earthy too, and reminded this reporter of the dreamily radiant Un Jardin a Cythere from Hermès Fragrances, a citrus-meets-woody scent inspired by a blonde field on the Greek island of Kythira that was released earlier this year.)
“Spring is in full swing. An impromptu picnic, unhurried chatter, birdsong, a lack of constraints… The sun caresses and awakens your skin,” reads the opening of the accompanying show notes. It was the kind of set that transports showgoers and beckons an OOTD or two. Better yet, we were told that all plants used would be “replanted in an act of circularity and respect for nature”.
All plants used to recreate a golden meadow for Hermes’ Spring Summer 2024 show were to be “replanted in an act of circularity and respect for nature” post-show.
WHAT: Nadege Vanhee-Cybulski – artistic director of women’s ready-to-wear at Hermes – had one of her most romantic and girlish visions of spring in mind when working on this collection. A series of cotton separates in a deep red tattersall pattern including an apron-style dress and circle skirt with a drawstring waist is country chic at its most sophisticated, crisply cut and trimmed with leather.
With the aim of “uncovering you without exposing you (to) invite the daylight to settle upon a bare shoulder, a hint of shoulder blade, a reimagined neckline”, she’s presented the most bra-slash-crop tops we’ve come across in an Hermes collection (we spotted over 20 amidst the 65 looks showcased). Instead of a faddish 2000s redux, these evoke a cool brand of sensuality, paired on the runway with a pencil skirt or relaxed, high-waisted pants and a refined take on utility sandals – flat with ribbon-style straps – of the same colour (style tip alert: the tone-on-tone dressing even extended to the finger and toe nails).
Spring Summer 2024 marks one of Hermes’ most sensual women’s collections to date with over 20 of the 65 looks that went down the runway anchored by minimalist bra or crop tops and worn tone-on-tone with equally streamlined, hyper-chic separates.
Taking Vanhee-Cybulski’s intellectual play on revealing skin to the next level: modular halter tops and tube-style skirts and dresses subtly accented with rows of buttons. Depending on which – or how many – one unfastens, the garments unveil a flash of the body or can be converted into a two-piece. That they’re composed of strips of lambskin sewn onto a viscose knit base makes them all the more ingenious and shows off Hermes’ mastery of working with leather.
Slinky, lambskin-appliqued tops and dresses accented with rows of buttons allow one to create a peek-a-boo effect however one pleases.
Naturally at Hermes, there are plenty more leather pieces to covet: from elegant coats, vests and shorts crafted from lightweight, buttery soft lambskin (pair the latter two together to create the illusion of a fun yet polished playsuit) to, of course, the accessories. Sculpted palladium-finish hoop earrings and tribal-esque necklaces – the work of the brand’s creative director of accessories, Clemande Burgevin Blachman – are sheathed in calfskin for an effect that’s equal parts modern and rustic. As for standouts from the leather bag department: the pared-back and boxy Plume in a too-cute mini size and an extra-large minimalist cowhide tote that was stuffed with reeds and flowers when it was carried down the catwalk – how’s that for some romance?
The boxy, hand-held Plume returns in a shrunken, necessities-only size while those into extra-large bags will appreciate the new minimalist tote crafted from hardy yet beautiful cowhide.
THE TAKEAWAY: In the hands of Hermes and the unflappably cool Vanhee-Cybulski – often described as a quiet but potent female force in the industry – the sexy becomes elevated to sensual while the trendy transforms into the timeless and tasteful. Yes, one could – and should – mix-and-match the pieces from this collection with something more casual or even street. It also wouldn’t be hard to imagine a circa-2023 Kardashian or Jenner in one of the bra top looks (fun fact: The closest thing to a reality TV star among the show’s handful of celebrity guests was Martha Stewart). And that’s the whole point: On top of elegance, this collection offers women the freedom to move and to dress as they want. Gen Z-ers, this is how you enter your polished era.
After nearly a decade into the role (she joined in 2014), Hermes’ artistic director of women’s ready-to-wear Nadege Vanhee-Cybulski remains a coolly assured figure who’s constantly reviewing the notions of femininity and freedom.
THE THINGS WE ARE EYEING: If you could only get one piece from Hermes Spring Summer 2024, make it one of the lambskin-appliqued bra tops – more than the ultimate designer bra top, it’s a unique demonstration of the brand’s leather craftsmanship. Hermes bag fans would also crush on the smart-meets-playful Panier d’ete (French for “summer basket”) – its upper half is crafted from smooth Swift calfskin and joined to its bottom half that’s made of finely woven natural Panama straw using an exposed leather stitch. Then there’s the Y2K-inflected additions to the Chaine d’ancre Punk line of silver jewellery, which feature an abstract and futuristic take on Hermes’ signature anchor chain motif and span everyday-friendly ear cuffs to multi-finger rings.
The brand’s latest additions to its Chaine d’ancre Punk line of silver jewellery boast a futuristic edge while the Panier d’ete tote is an unexpected and hyper-slick take on trendy woven baskets.
THE LOOKS: