Welcome to Hermès universe
As of press time, Nadege Vanhee-Cybulski, formerly of The Row and Céline, is the new women’s ready-to-wear designer for Hermès. Her predecessors include Christophe Lemaire, Martin Margiela and Jean Paul Gaultier. While the women’s department seems to have been playing a game of musical chairs for the past few decades, its menswear division has been nothing short of progressive and unfazed under the sole helm of Veronique Nichanian for nearly a quarter of a century.
YStyle was recently flown by Hermès to Singapore for the Hermès Men’s Universe invite-only event called "Men On The Move." Held previously in Beijing, Paris and Miami, the event was dubbed a celebration and gathering that would allow the luxury brand to showcase all its offerings. From the brand’s spring/summer 2014 ready-to-wear pieces to its coveted leather goods, it was basically a presentation of what Hermès is all about. As menswear artistic director Veronique Nichanian put it, “They may know our ties and clothes, but they may not know about our shoes. Everyone is familiar with our scarves but not our bicycles. It gives customers an opportunity to see everything together.”
This year’s theme, “Movement,” was a tribute to the brand’s easy-luxury identity, saddle-riding roots and its love for the spirit of travel. The show, held literally on a runway — as in that of the majestic terminal and hangar of the Old Kallang airport — was the perfect venue for the party. The massive two-story airport was separated into 12 spaces for installations and performances that were created by Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich and French digital visionary Miguel Chevalier. Each installation showcased every feature of the Hermès menswear landscape, from shoes and accessories to ready-to-wear clothes and home furnishing. Technically, it was a blown-up art and fashion show combined. Each installation was pegged around the quintessential Hermès man — from sporty to jetsetter, from businessman to great outdoors enthusiast. Each segment showcased the products in a quirky but elegantly executed manner — the Hermès way.
The installations included a trippy maze of connected dressing rooms that seemed like mirrors, an airport conveyor-belt with leather goods and male models sitting on a revolving crate, suspended airplane propellers with clothes hanging from them, a makeshift “airport security” line where people were asked to put on Hermès accessories and have their photos taken at the end, a vintage Voisin that was fully upholstered with Hermès leather, two identical rooms with twin models in each that moved in sync to make it seem like a mirror image, and a theater-sized motion-sensor screen that played Hermès scarves patterns, just to name a few.
While Hermès has always been synonymous with sky-high luxury, the brand, while holding on to its heritage, wants to prove that it is never about the expensive things but more about living in the moment and enjoying a rewarding experience. That’s what Hermès is all about.
