The skin, our epidermis, is a sentient landscape that makes up 15 percent of our body weight. A living canvas that translates every brush of fabric, every shift in temperature, every sensory subtlety into a rhapsody of sensation. It was this intimate barrier between the self and the outside world on which artistic director Nadège Vanhee mused for Hermès’ spring/summer 2025 collection.
“For me, sensuality means skin,” Vanhee told the Business of Fashion ahead of the show. “The flesh tones in the collection recall leather, evoking a sense of touch. There’s a very carnal idea of summer; the body is revealed. There’s transparency and lightness, while fluid knits express a symbiosis with the body.”
During a rare break in the Parisian rain clouds on Saturday, Hermès returned to La Garde Républicaine, the city’s historic cavalry barracks, in a nod to the brand’s equestrian roots, to show the 61-look collection. Show goers cut through crowds that had been gathering for hours, each one rugged up in layered looks for the unseasonably chilly September day. Once inside, guests entered a set reminiscent of an under-construction building site, realised by Parisian design studio Villa Eugénie. It evoked the architectural framework of an artist’s atelier with wooden structures overhung in parts by a translucent canvas—the perfect setting that complemented the interplay of reveal-conceal that played out in the runway looks. A quick Shazam of the soundtrack revealed the psychedelic track, Heaven, by The Rolling Stones.
A palette of ebony, deep marigold, alabaster, moss, fawn, and pomegranate hues mirrored the spectrum of skin and flesh. Buttery-soft leather layers were slung over whisper-light mesh (Vanhee makes the case for sheer trousers with hip-high zippers) in an interplay of textures. The clothes skimmed the body, and bralettes and briefs featured in more than half the looks.
The Birkin à l’envers that was debuted during the show
The collection also drew inspiration from the beating heart of Hermès. Titled Dans l’atelier (‘inside the workshop’), it paid homage to the brand’s legacy of craftsmanship and the transformative power of fashion in women’s everyday lives. As the show notes said, “A look, like a life, like a sketch, takes shape in layers.” Vanhee also used the showcase to explore the personal style of the artisans who dedicate themselves to their craft. For them, fleeting trends are eschewed in favour of a cultivated timelessness, and utility is prized. The result was evident in the collection with workwear shapes in jackets and cropped shirting, utility patch pockets, and largely monochromatic head-to-toe tones. In a nod to the work itself, the final look was an ebony-brown silk mesh dress embroidered with lambskin and metal beads that required hundreds of hours of handwork to realise.
There were also plenty of new bag designs: the Mini Kelly Pampilles, fluttering with leather fringing, hinted at playful movement. The Birkin à l’envers (‘inside out’), saw the icon exposed, its usually hidden stitches proudly displayed, like veins beneath translucent skin. The Sac Cliquetis, sleek and modern, featured chaîne d’ancre metal links and the Minaudière Sanglons, a hyper-minimalist clutch, spotlighted the Kelly clasp and elevated it into a clever statement piece. The brand’s equestrian roots were evident in the intricate patterns of the woven Cabas Tressage and Panier Tressage that recalled the tactile pleasure of a horse’s mane, and the Cabas Corricolo, a cascade of horsehair fringe that recalled a steed in motion.
