Nadège Vanhee is no stranger to New York. It is almost ten years to the day that Vanhee, who was previously based in the city as design director of The Row, was approached by Hermès to take over the Parisian house’s womenswear collections after the departure of Christophe Lemaire. Despite a lifelong love affair with New York, there are some offers – particularly as a French designer – you don’t turn down. In March 2015, she showed her first collection for Hermès; in the decade since, she has proved a steadfast presence, her pragmatic but sensual collections achieving a rare combination of critical acclaim and commercial success (no doubt part of the reason Hermès’ profits in 2023 rose 28 per cent to almost €4.3 billion).
And so, even though Vanhee is now based in Paris, and was born in Seclin, close to Lille on the French-Belgium border, yesterday evening’s one-off Hermès show held at Pier 36 in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, felt like something of a homecoming. Indeed the collection – which although shown as part of the resort season was titled Hermès A/W 2024 ‘The Second Chapter’ – saw Vanhee pay ’ode to the pace, energy and timeless optimism of New York City’, and had a celebratory mood. In the venue, New York’s recognisable yellow traffic lights hung from the ceiling, recalling the city’s busy intersections, and the seemingly endless flow of people on Manhattan’s sidewalks.
