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The news is out: Grace Wales Bonner has been named Hermès’s new creative director of menswear. In an era where every appointment is scrutinised for what it means for the market, the brand and culture, Hermès has made a bold move, shifting its creative leadership for the menswear division for the first time in almost four decades and becoming the first major European fashion house to appoint a Black woman to the role.
Wales Bonner, who built her namesake label around cultural storytelling and meticulously crafted tailoring, will present her debut collection in January 2027. The industry is already weighing in on what this means: a generational handover and a potential recalibration of Hermès’s brand codes.
Our team had thoughts, so we’ve decided to bring our office water cooler talks and endless Slacks to you here.
Elektra Kotsoni: How fab is the news of Grace Wales Bonner’s appointment at Hermès! So good to have an appointment everyone seems to get behind. And she doesn’t have to show until January 2027? She’s going to need the time to really get into the archive. It’s also great to see another luxury brand get off the hamster wheel and give their creatives time... Is that true luxury?
Laure Guilbault: This reminds me of how Chanel gave time to artistic director Matthieu Blazy: he presented his debut show nine months after the announcement of his appointment. And it paid off. Hermès will skip Paris Men’s Week in June, and the SS27 collection, which will be created by the studio, will probably be presented as a presentation or a lookbook. Hermès doesn’t give in to haste (nor trends).
What does it mean for Hermès to have a buzzier name at the helm? At Hermès, there’s no single creative director. Pierre-Alexis Dumas is the general artistic director, while Nadège Vanhee is in charge of womenswear, Pierre Hardy shoes, jewellery and objects of beauty. Hermès has no overinflated ego, the house is the star. It’s about juggling very specific codes that have been established for decades and maintaining consistency in the highest regard for quality. I spoke to Stéphane Wargnier, Hermès’s former head of communications, in January and he said: “Even when Martin Margiela and Jean Paul Gaultier were at the creative helm of Hermès, their designs were more Hermès than Hermès.” I expect Grace Wales Bonner to be part of that lineage.
Lucy Maguire: Grace’s appointment totally recontextualises Hermès menswear. Where before, of course, Hermès was a respected house, its ready-to-wear has never been centre stage. Right now, Hermès ready-to-wear, including fashion and footwear, represents just 29 per cent of the brand’s revenue. Wales Bonner’s strength as a designer is in ready-to-wear and footwear, so she’s a perfect fit to scale that side. Grace’s arrival will place the brand’s menswear label into a new kind of spotlight. Wales Bonner has legions of young brand fans who will be keen to see what Grace does. Even if they can’t afford it!
Maliha Shoaib: I think it’s also worth saying it’s rare to see a woman, let alone a woman of colour, take the helm of a heritage house as established and prestigious as Hermès. To your point, Lucy, I think something that really resonates with Wales Bonner’s fans and customers is how the brand explores ideas of cultural hybridity and modern Black masculinity, and has also earned deep credibility in the art world. That combination makes the appointment feel culturally resonant.
Lucy Maguire: I think her understanding of current culture will be great for business. While Hermès famously doesn’t have a marketing department, the leather goods business has benefitted from a youth injection in recent years, with Birkin content trending on TikTok, for example. While I don’t think Hermès is about to start posting TikToks or shooting to go viral, it will be interesting to see how Wales Bonner might bring the ready-to-wear business into cultural conversations and boost its relevance for a new generation. After her work at Adidas, I’m excited to maybe see a new Hermès men’s sneaker…
Madeleine Schulz: It’s an exciting prospect too because, as we know, Hermès remains the gold standard for luxury. For years, fans of Wales Bonner have been hoping to see her appointed to a major house. (Wales Bonner, Martine Rose and Telfar Clemens were buzzed about for the Louis Vuitton job that later went to Pharrell.) Sure, the ‘great luxury reset’ is coming to a close, for now, but this is an optimistic move that might inspire more brands to look to the next generation of Wales Bonner’s peers when more roles do inevitably open down the line.
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Hermès appoints Grace Wales Bonner as creative director of menswear
