While the Hermès girls went glamping, the boys opted for a more laidback approach to the holiday spirit, as artistic director Véronique Nichanian’s Spring/Summer 23 collection for the men’s universe suggests.
Paired with casual bermuda shorts in compact cotton poplin, the first look sets the casual tone with an oversized turtleneck jumper in cashmere depicting the sunset in mellow yellow hues.
Among the crisp jackets, elasticated pants and neoprene sandals, nature calls from the herbarium. Nichanian’s “Herbier” motif of tumbling leaves accentuates the tranquility of the collection, while suggesting movement and joie de vivre.
Here, she deftly elevates the gentle motif with a haute sportif interpretation on a perforated calfskin blouson with colour gradation.
On the other hand, marine life prints of enthralling seahorses and crayfish channels the beach life, lending a fun, graphic accent to the easy-breezy collection.
By now you would have noticed the splashes of juicy hues that colours this collection’s palette, a cool complement to masculine neutrals.
Zingy tints illuminate the wavy “Ondulations” design that evokes water ripples. Makes you want to dip your toes into the water.
But it is the distorted checks that takes us on a deep dive under the surface. The deliberately askew grid is an expression of the perspective of the tiles at the bottom of a swimming pool, seen through a prism of water.
The unexpected twist of this subtle deviation can also be an imaginative allusion to carefree times. Nevertheless, the fluid, haphazardly-drawn lines is the key motif that punctuates the collection, and is made cooler when it is reinterpreted on Hermès’ iconic Birkin, said to be a technical feat. Employing the appliqué-piqué technique, artisans carefully position strips of leather in contrasting colours to create the checks on the front, sides, flap, and back of the “Haut à courroies” bag.
A standout material in the collection is the Berlingot canvas composed of 100% polyamide, whose glossy texture resembles the hard candy it’s named after. Nichanian taps on the material to construct these parkas with coloured double hood and bucket hats, among other pieces.
A number of the boys are dressed with jewellery ranging from bracelets to rings. This Chaîne d’ancre Chaos Fancy necklace in white gold and diamonds jazzes up the white suit in cotton poplin with discreet luxury.
