On a dimly lit runway scattered with fine sand, Hermès (Instagram) presented a Fall 25 collection that shimmered like polished obsidian: sleek, contained, quietly erotic. Nadège Vanhée, a decade into her tenure at the house, offered a masterclass in restraint and seduction—her vision cutting across equestrian tradition, fetishistic undertones, and the anatomy of real-world desire. The result? A collection that felt like a whispered revolution.
Dubbed Leather Dandy, Vanhée’s collection was as refined as ever—but this time, there was an undercurrent of provocation. The silhouettes were narrow and deliberate, bodies encased in quilted leather, wool felt, and silk gabardine. She nodded to the codes of riding attire and subverted them: hot pants replaced jodhpurs, saddle flaps were reimagined as sculptural skirt panels, and coats—clever, transformative—unzipped into blankets. A wardrobe for the woman who rides, rebels, and rules.
The palette remained moody and intelligent. Charcoal, ash, midnight, and black formed a near-monochrome base punctuated by just a flicker of plum, pine green, and creamy neutrals. It was Parisian to the core—unbothered by flash, grounded in tactility. A felt-and-leather dress with brogued seams revealed the collection’s thesis best: utility meets sensuality, ornamentation meets intention.
There was also humour and hidden drama. Zippers ran stealthily along spines and sleeves, allowing bodycon turtlenecks and tailored dresses to mutate at will—cut-outs appearing like secrets shared. One couldn’t help but think of the intelligent woman dressing herself not for attention, but as part of a strategy.
Footwear remained resolutely on theme: flat winklepicker boots and high-heeled brogues that looked fit for both the stable and a saloon. And then the bags—those objects of Hermès lore—appeared in scaled-down, almost private dimensions. A saddlebag in plum leather with an exaggerated silver horse-bit detail was perhaps the most succinct metaphor for the collection’s mood: controlled flamboyance.
What Vanhée achieved here felt less like a seasonal offering and more like a statement of intent. She didn’t shout; she didn’t need to. With extraordinary craftsmanship and an eye for power dressing at its most psychological, she reminded us that fashion need not be loud to be radical. In a moment when maximalism threatens to blur identity, Hermès proposes the opposite: precision as power, structure as seduction, leather as language.
A collection for women who understand that the quietest rooms are often where the sharpest moves are made.
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