Eight narrow pyres burned alongside the cobbled path in the courtyard of the 17th-century former Dominican monastery in which Hermès held its show this evening. The smell of woodsmoke and hot wine was romantic and evocative. The flames grew higher as the wind picked up and whooshed around the cloisters, blowing out crackling orange sparks.
As the show started it became apparent the models would walk between these pyres, which was seriously brave of both them and Hermès. Thankfully no model seemed harmed in the making of this show, yet it did look at the finale as if those burning orange sparks were settling on some of the clothes as the models walked by.
Heaven forbid that any of these garments were even slightly singed. The roomy cashmere sweaters that were canvas for a mountain-scape called “Endless Road,” the nut-color crocodile parka, the for-Hermès radically wide pants in cashmere and flannel, and the dotted silk jacquard suits were all objects of quite patent preciousness. The collection was contemporary in its gentle nods to the now via elasticated-waist trousers and track-blousons in technically treated silk. It was also pretty immune to the fast-sparking, faster-extinguished gusts of transient fashion trendiness: These were pieces to buy and wear for life—and to keep well away from open flame.
