Heroes of Menswear: Véronique Nichanian
Time Is Luxury
“Luxury does not mean anything anymore. We live in a superlative world—everyone is saying, ‘We are doing luxury.’ So, we pay attention to things. For me, now, luxury is a question of time: taking our time to make beautiful things; giving time to the people to make their choice; and giving time in the sense that when they buy something from Hermès—whether it’s a bag, or clothes, or shoes or silk—it will last them a long time. It’s about quality and doing things right.”
Master the Basics
“There are a few things every man should own: a white shirt; a grey flannel suit; a leather jacket; a cashmere sweater; a beautiful pair of shoes. These are the timeless pieces, the foundation of the wardrobe. From there, you can begin to play and experiment with colour and pattern.”
Lighten Up
“I’ve seen a big change in men’s fashion in the past 10 years. With a sporty life and an open mind, men have realized they can dress exactly how they want. There are no longer rules dictating that you have to wear a pinstriped suit to be serious, or anything like that. The young generation expresses themselves. They’re influenced by sports—they’ve taken a habit of wearing things that are very comfortable. That is a key of modernity: the lightness of the clothes. Before, the fabrics were very heavy. Now, everything is light—the construction, the innovative yarns and weaves. It’s fantastic.”
Know Yourself
“The Hermès man is charming, funny and casual. But he’s also self-confident, because he knows himself. He doesn’t wear Hermès just so people will know it’s Hermès—I don’t put any big logos on anything, I hate that. Just the material and construction of your clothes should express its quality. And the men who buy our clothes understand that: they like the way it’s done, the attention we’ve given, everything.”
Clothes, Not Fashion
“Since the beginning, I’ve always said, ‘I’m not designing fashion. I’m designing clothes.’ It’s an important distinction. Fashion is more geared for women—it’s an effect, it’s a silhouette, it’s playing with these things. Doing clothes means paying attention to the width of the lapels, to the proportion of the shoulder, to all of the details. Fashion is a total-look proposal, and I never work that way. I don’t like to dictate. I design pieces for men who make their own fashion, who express what they want to express.”
Mix Your Prints
“For our spring/summer collection, I wanted to propose something light and carefree, playing with the prints that Hermès is known for: florals, ikats and geometric prints on cotton and on silk. There was a fresh energy that came from mixing all these prints together—it had a bohemian soul, a summery nonchalance. I had never shown so many prints mixed together, but men are ready for that now. The trick to pulling it off is keeping the prints all in the same tone of colour: blues with blues, beige with beige.”
