Wearable optimism, rain or shine
MANILA, Philippines — A summertime drizzle fell on the Hermès Men’s Summer 2022 show. Surprises like this are what Véronique Nichanian’s upcoming collection “Double Game” is more than prepared for, as the show went on in the courtyard of France’s Mobilier National building, home to the state-owned furniture, staged by director Cyril Teste.
Duality, hybridization, vibrancy and fluidity are central themes, harking to our collective memory of relying on protective clothing and the excitement of going out for the very first time. In the show notes, Nichanian writes, “It aims to encourage people to get out and roam.”
Paper-like fabric, the brand’s technical fabric Toilbright, and cotton covert come in pieces like reversible hooded parkas and two-toned jackets with patches. Leather overshirts come in the juiciest shades of summer with graphic stitching. Perforation delineating the house’s Quadrige horse-head motif on a shirt, zig-zag stitching — calling to mind the kind seen on boat sails — runs sideways on a windbreaker. A zip-up blouson bears a scarf print typically executed in silk, belying that it comes in a technical fabric. A sweater is knitted in gradations of tangerine and pink, while a button-up cardigan is faded from gray to the same bright turquoise in a crocodile overshirt.
The bottom of the Bolide bag in the shape of a skateboard is the star in the accessories department. Unfussiness is a current that runs through the collection with belts made of rope or technical knits with hook clasps and “H” buckles, ?sandals, and suede goatskin ankle boots, as well as bags in military canvas.
These pieces all emerge in a new silhouette of layered cropped jackets and belted high-waist trousers, worn with canvas high-top sneakers and ankle boots, conveying a structured sophistication that won’t be out of place when worn as evening wear. It’s a nonchalance borne out of what we have come to learn of fashion from a year when function reigned supreme. This is what new elegance looks like.
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Hermès is in Greenbelt 2, Ayala Center, Makati.
