Hermès shows part two of Fall/Winter women’s collection with New York-style fete

New York and Paris are inextricably linked for those who aren’t keenly aware.

The two major cities share a similar fascination with the other. As Americans list Paris as their top spot to visit, the French dream of New York is Xanadu.

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Thus, for Nadège Vanhée, artistic director of women’s ready-to-wear at Hermès, it was most likely a designer dream come true to show the brand’s first global show outside of Paris showcasing a new collection called ‘Manhattan Rocabar’, referring to the original name of a striped horse rug that indicates cross-cultural pollination; aka in this case ‘Paris meets New York.’

The Hermès woman in the part one collection leaned into a sexier, subversive side with her chic bike-chick lifestyle. Part two had elements of that mood but combined it with a color palette that could reference New York autumnal leaves as much as 80s hip-hop streetwear and, most definitely, the colors of a New York traffic light. The show space was covered in the traditional three-color signal units, which lit up both on the runway and the party floor that it transformed into immediately following the show.

The color palette thus ranged from bright yellows, rich reds, and Kelly green. It was paired with neutral black, cream, brown, and Hermès orange to express a kaleidoscope of patterns, textures, and codes ostensibly reminiscent of New York’s melting pot. Style motifs were also jumbled up. To wit, a large yellow fisherman’s coat, a nautical pea coat, equestrian wool sports jackets, a miniskirt resembling a saddle, the bike-inspired leather jumpsuits, and feminine knits, a seemingly growing category in Vanhée’s oeuvre all came together in a delightful mish-mash.

As upper crust as those motifs may appear, the adoption of codes and colorful combos could also be seen as an ode to early hip-hop, which was born from New York streets. A leather hoodie vest looked equal parts apres-ski Gstaad and urban sportswear attire. Even the leather Mariner caps that almost every model wore could harken back to Newsboy-style caps worn by early artists of the genre and so artfully captured by photographers Jamal Shabazz and Janette Beckman.

The accessories—an area the brand is pushing beyond its famous Birkin and Kelly bags— ranged from crescent-shaped shoulder bags, boxy zip totes, large satchels thrown over the shoulder, and a de rigeur cool city boots. A ladylike touch was seen in the ruffed edge knitwear to soften the look. With its voice overlay, the soundtrack reminded the audience that French accents and style are fawned over in the city.

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Once the show ended, the party featured DJ sets by the Honey Dijon and Rahill with a live performance in between from Indie pop diva Caroline Polachek, who, wearing an all-red leather look from the Fall collection, perfectly demonstrated the edgy vixen side.

The sounds and nightclub vibe are what people come to expect from and seek out in New York and had Vanhèe dancing up a storm with fellow Parisians, friends, and models who walked the show. Keeping folks hydrated and satiated were several cocktail bars, a raw bar, and Italian delights courtesy of Carbone.

The space, which was located East of the trendy Dimes Square neighborhood on the East River, opened up to a custom Hermès-designed outdoor lounge where guests, such as the VIP clientele attending the event, gathered in the booth-like seating areas, displaying their Hermès Birkin and Kelly bags. The spot, overlooking the water across to Brooklyn, was blessed with perfect June evening weather, almost encouraging lighting up a cigarette.

There’s more of that in post-pandemic New York, which showed that the Big Apple also succumbs to Parisian ways.