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After a summer of record-breaking heat across the globe, air felt like a particularly timely proposition for Hermès. For SS27, the French creative director Nadège Vanhée turned her attention to something we can all feel but never quite see. Exploring how the invisible might take shape through clothing, the latest Hermès collection cemented itself in ‘air’.
And when a House known for its mastery of leather sets out to capture something as intangible as air, The Shape of Air collection set out to explore that. Approaching lightness not simply as an aesthetic, but as a matter of construction, each piece was allowed to breathe, move and respond to the elements, in a way the more severe, strict, polished house had usually not been permitted to. With shades of tomato red, orange and sunflower yellow floating through the runway, Hermès SS27 loosened its reins on its familiar equestrian restraint, and indulged in a little play.
Leather, traditionally associated with structure and poise, was made almost weightless. Fine strips embroidered onto delicate mesh, openwork knits offering glimpses of skin, ultra-fine calfskin coats and jackets in falling over the shoulders. Glimpses of air passed through each cut and silhouette, framing the collection with a light breath.
Elsewhere, garments invited interaction. Wide-leg trousers unzipped at the sides to expose the legs and invite a breeze, while a silk column skirt in the house’s iconic Brise de Charme print opened into draping. Belts and drawstrings let silhouettes expand and contract, giving the wearer a degree of freedom within even the most carefully considered constructions. And the palette was equally spirited, shifting from misty blues to sunset orange, chasing the changing light of a summer’s day.
More than an exercise in lightness, the collection offered an almost humorous response to the increasingly practical question of how we dress for the rising heat. While Hermès has long championed clothes designed to endure, Vanhée seemed particularly interested in their ability to adapt. There is something worth noting about seeing the House’s meticulous craftsmanship put towards garments that could be adjusted, opened up and slouch, with a little less rigidity.
In a collection inspired by something impossible to hold onto, Vanhée found an intriguing counterpoint to the permanence so often associated with luxury. To rid some of its preciousness, without becoming any less considered.
