“Conceal and reveal”: A very sensual Hermès
At Hermès, Nadège Vanhee continued her sensual turn, using reveal-and-conceal silhouettes and subtle power-dressing codes to capture a female gaze.
In a fashion industry where male designers outweigh their female colleagues, we often talk about the female gaze: how is a woman’s view of sexy, cool or chic different from that of a man? At Hermès – a house that employs two women designers – a sensual female gaze was on display on Saturday afternoon as Nadège Vanhee revealed a follow-up to the erotic collection she presented last season. “Reveal” was the word of the day: “I really wanted to keep a sensuality but bring it more to a place of revealing and concealing,” she said. “For me, dichotomies are not enemies. They work in tandem.”
PHOTOGRAPHY VIRGILE GUINARD
PHOTOGRPAHY FILIPPO FIOR
She illustrated that point in tight silhouettes that, for the most part, covered the entire body yet read unmistakably sensual. The lower panels of jackets were cut open to reveal body-conscious shorts and jodhpurs paired with leather boots. The latter were symptomatic of the tension Vanhee constantly retained between sexy and sophisticated. Every time she ventured into traditionally “sexy” territory (such as a thigh-high leather boot) she added restraint (such as replacing its high heel with a flat one). Other examples counted a catsuit in tan ostrich with cosy knitted sleeves, or tops and skirts with suggestively placed zips.
PHOTOGRPAHY FILIPPO FIOR
PHOTOGRPAHY FILIPPO FIOR
This collection is really about female agency and the way you can transform. She’s an actor of transformation, she’s bold and autonomous, and has a slightly spiritual authority,
Nadège Vanhee
“This collection is really about female agency and the way you can transform. She’s an actor of transformation, she’s bold and autonomous, and has a slightly spiritual authority,” Vanhee said. Often, those ideas conjured silhouettes that echoed the power-dressing of the 1980s, with styling that wouldn’t have been lost on Dynasty’s Krystle Carrington. Presented in the Garde Républicaine, the set saw a river-like metal runway swirl its way through a mossy woodland backdropped by a night sky. A sometime creature of the night, Vanhee said the dark inspires her. “There have been a lot of sleepless nights creating things. Less now, but in my early years, especially as an art student. I had these moments when I could feel this blue aura wrapping around me.”
PHOTOGRAPHY VIRGILE GUINARD
PHOTOGRPAHY FILIPPO FIOR
As a sequel to last season’s exploration of sensuality, the collection continued Vanhee’s path into more experimental territory at Hermès, which has announced plans for an haute couture show in the near future. As one of the most solid institutions in fashion, this house definitely has space for that sense of unrestrained creativity many of us crave in these conservative fashion times.
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