Nadège Vanhee likes a slow burn. Since stepping into her role as Hermès creative director in 2014, the French designer has slowly unfolded her multifaceted vision for the heritage house, one collection at a time. Like a kaleidoscope, each season snaps a different piece of a much larger puzzle, a puzzle that celebrates the human form as sensual and fluid but also retains the nearly 200-year-old label that’s anchored in functionality and simplicity. So, with each collection, a different facet comes to view. This year’s lineup has been a prime example, showcasing fierce resilience and strength amidst an imagined storm via grommet-covered, armor-like leather outerwear for the Fall/Winter 2024 collection. Then there was the collection’s second installment — set in NYC’s Pier 36 in June 2024 — which showcased a more free-spirited, playful Hermès woman in rosette turtlenecks and burnt orange jumpsuits. And for Hermès Spring 2025 collection, Vanhee has peeled away yet another layer, revealing a softer, more feminine theme that she described to Business Of Fashion as simply “sensual.”
Her latest offering is truly inspired by the human form. The main color palette, for instance, consists of ebony, camel, chocolate, deep marigold, and soft beige. Pops of color come from a cool cranberry. The hues make for an otherwise neutral look, made interesting by the mix-and-match approach to separates, patterns, and even textures. Monochromatic suiting was made up of leather moto jackets over sheer silk trousers and knit bandeau bras. Color — and aesthetic — play came into focus by way of sturdy khaki trench coats haphazardly tied over sheer brown and maroon bottoms — and nothing else. The softer fabrics paired with sturdier more structures ones allowed for interesting movement and dimension.
“For me, sensuality means skin, the epidermis,” said Vanhee to BOF. “The flesh tones in the collection recall leather, evoking a sense of touch. There’s a very carnal idea of summer; the body is revealed. There’s transparency and lightness, while fluid knits express a symbiosis with the body.” Transparency indeed. Skin was revealed in a number of subtle and not-so-subtle peek-a-boo moments: the aforementioned sheer pant or skirt, a swathe of exposed midriff, a thigh-grazing mini dress.
A through line Vanhee always manages to create each season — this one included — is the equestrian heritage embedded in Hermès’ DNA. For spring and summer, sturdy riding boots were paired with flowy midi skirts and shirt dresses. Riding jackets were reimagined in soft leathers and cropped silhouettes.
Also reimagined were the handbags, with a new, boxy version of the brand’s Bolide style —along with the original silhouette — debuting in ivory and camel colors. Classics like the Kelly and the Maximors were also present, set against the other neutral shades that made up the collection as a whole.
See the highlights from the Vanhee’s latest — and sexiest — collection ahead.
