The Hermès Women's Show: A Magical, Opulent Experience
The Hermès women's show in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, was a spectacle to behold. The event was a fusion of fashion, art, and culture, with a unique twist. The show was hosted in a butter-yellow pavilion, designed by Maybe Paris with Hermès creative director Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski, which was built from scratch and took three weeks to construct. The structure was a giant cake on stilts, plastered with all-caps neon signage, SILHOUETTES ON THE HORIZON.
The show itself was a celebration of the dancer's wardrobe, with fabric that had a mind of its own. The models walked in S's and the clothes followed suit, dresses, '80s flared pants, and silks expanding and trailing behind them in a way that brought to mind Audrey Hepburn in 'Funny Face'. The show notes pointed to 'the dancer's wardrobe' as inspiration, embracing how fabric can have a mind of its own - gathering, draping, cascading.
The first guest who caught my eye was Brenda Hashtag. She's a fan of the new generation of influencers and has a lot to say. She's really vulnerable with the things she says about being in the fashion world. She did an interview with the Cutting Room Floor about fashion shows and how people don't say hi each other, and there's nothing wrong with saying hi to each other. She's part of a new generation that has more vulnerability. Even though she said she doesn't like L.A. [laughs].
Three words that describe the night for me are magical, opulent, and VIC's. The body piece with the flared pant legs was my favorite look. I feel like all these designers who grew up in the '80s are bringing back the '80s in a really chic way. YSL did this collection a couple of seasons ago with socks with fringe on them. That outfit was very reminiscent of that. There's this new play on the '80s but not in a cheesy way. It's very chic and luxurious.
Monochrome ruled the runway. I'm team black and yellow. I would've been OK with the blue not being included. I see the '80s inspiration but I would've been OK with blue not being a part of the color palette.
The best thing I ate after the show was those egg thingies with roe. What was in it even?! The truffle toast was bomb. And of course, Champagne. My take on the Birkin bag is that the more worn out, the better. The thing I tell the L.A. haters who flew in for just a few days for the show is to get to know the culture. Get to know the real people. Go to the east side. When the only thing that you see are the influencers and Erewhon, that's not the real L.A. You have to go to where the culture lives.
