Fashion’s silly little game of designer musical chairs did not stop with the end of Fashion Month. After the last runway walked, it was announced that Maria Grazia Chiuri is now in at Fendi as Chief Creative Officer. One more announcement has the industry unusually unanimous in its praise and celebration: Grace Wales Bonner is the new Creative Director for Hermès Menswear.
The legacy of Hermès menswear was led by Véronique Nichanian, who designed the men’s collections for a whopping 37 years (that’s the longest tenure of anyone I can rattle off the top of my head) and maintained the sense of whimsy and utter luxury the brand is known for. Wales Bonner comes to the role with over a decade of her namesake label, Wales Bonner, which is the crown jewel of modern British menswear — and the pinnacle of contemporary men’s fashion around the world. She uses her love for art, Anglomania, and her Jamaican heritage to create modern tailoring, effortlessly sexy (and incredibly commercial) ready-to-wear, and recently added womenswear to her offerings. Her most well-known collaboration is with Adidas; since 2020, they’ve created sneakers and tracksuits that have sold out time and time again.
This news not only hits home for those looking for genuine emerging talent to finally rise to the top; it is one of the few announcements of creative-director positions that brings diversity to the proverbial high-fashion table. Wales Bonner is a Black woman, part of a cohort often overlooked for positions like this (other names that come to mind are Martine Rose and Bianca Saunders), and while her name has been thrown into the ring previously for vacancies at Louis Vuitton and Dior, her appointment at Hermès feels aligned with her ethos of slow fashion and timeless luxury.
Slow, indeed, is the name of the game at Hermès. As one of the few independently owned fashion brands left in the world, they pride themselves on delivering world-class product that isn’t geared towards trends, but in search of sartorial perfection. Wales Bonner — with her world-class curatorial eye that has lent itself to performances at the Guggenheim, a show at the Serpentine, and earned her a MBE — knows what it takes to build something over time. She will actually have that rarest luxury of all (time) for her first show, which is set for January 2027. It’s also considerate of our savings accounts as we finanically prepare to lust over what will surely be game-changing fashion.
