It passed in a flash of mirrored crocodile: Véronique Nichanian’s final runway look as menswear designer at Hermès after 37 years in the job. As the models sporting her farewell collection for the house completed their finale, screens relayed video of some of Nichanian’s many past runway bows. Then she came out for this one, dressed with the same tasteful simplicity that has marked so much of her work. As Nichanian took a final lap, the crowd was already on its feet, filming or applauding: it was applause well deserved.
Backstage afterwards, Nichanian posed with her whooping, emotion-suffused team before giving one final post-show debrief. “I’m happy,” she said: “And I’m proud of myself. I can say that because I work very hard, and I work with passion, and I make the style of the Hermès man, which is a simple line. I never change my mind. I’m straight to the point. And I make things which are for me the best for Hermès men.” Asked on what basis she’d selected the look that was her last-ever, a long dark coat in that spectacular crocodile over some slimly fitted black silk pants and a high-necked sweater, she replied: “because it’s fun.”
It was fun, as well as sleek, minimal, and highly crafted. These characteristics were the key attributes of Nichanian’s output not only tonight but across the span of her career. As if to remind us of that, along with the longevity that Hermès represents, Nichanian said she’d peppered this collection with pieces she’d first designed decades ago: “just to prove how it lasts. And I love the idea that you mix the things with old collections.”
Look 5’s biker collared leather jumpsuit, for instance, was revived from fall 1991. The shearling lined calfskin blouson in the following look was from 2004. The suede deerskin aviator from look 14 hailed from 2001, and the stitched pinstripe leather suit in look 44 was from the 2003 Hermès menswear vintage. Another fun nod to the past was the square, suitcase style bag in look 30 whose outward facing side was sculpted in leather to resemble a boombox from around the time of Nichanian’s 1988 arrival at the house.
Nichanian did not forget to add some new classics to her canon while hanging up her hat. These included the two shearling coats whose fleeces were dyed a coral pink, as were the stripe embroidered shearling overshirts. The orange-soled ankle boots that anchored this collection will also be highly sought after.
Only Karl Lagerfeld’s 1965-2019 employment at Fendi counts as a longer run than Nichanian has achieved as a clothing designer at a luxury fashion house. As she told La Repubblica in her exit interview last week, she chose to leave the role despite Hermès CEO Axel Dumas’s request that she stay on longer. Tonight she added: “I feel so happy because I took the decision for myself… I want to travel, to go and live somewhere else. [There are] many things to do in life! So after so many years, I decided to do something different.” Asked tonight for one parting piece of advice for the industry she has been part of for so long, Nichanian, true to form, replied simply and to the point. “Slow down,” she said. And with that, she was done.
