Back in the Saddle
Review of Hermès Fall 2025 Fashion Show
By Mark Wittmer
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Equestrian elegance. Sleek power. Reconsidered craft.
Creative director Nadège Vanhée presented her Fall 2025 collection for Hermès at the the Garde Republicaine, the expansive complex of stables for Paris’ mounted gendarmes – a choice that nodded to the house’s equestrian heritage. A perennial motif for Hermès, equestrianism and saddlery were taken up once again in a collection that felt slick and sophisticated, albeit safe and somber.
Most emblematic of that theme were the riding boots that anchored most of the looks, with the classic shape given a pointed toe that put a quietly chic take on western wear. Leather skirts and jackets were finished with broguing details and harness-like hardware. Slick leather coats were worn over quilted leather micro-shorts.
While much of the collection was about sophisticated, leather-forward takes on classic outerwear, there were several moments where Vanhée experimented with new structural ideas, like the inventive use of lacing and belting or the modular zip dresses. Even knitwear was treated with leather detailing.
These ideas didn’t always come together cohesively with the collection as a whole, however; sometimes it felt like the insistence on emphasizing leather confused the intent of the more creatively ambitious pieces. The color story, which was largely black and brown except for four sudden pea-green looks, felt similarly like an interesting idea that wasn’t given the space to fully develop.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
A creative director at Hermès faces the unique challenge of needing use their own voice to deliver something exciting each season while serving the interests of a behemoth in the luxury space with two centuries of clout to uphold. For the most part, Vanhée rises to this challenge with impressive deftness, and while this collection didn’t always achieve a perfect synthesis, it did serve to emphasize the brand’s strengths once again.
