STYLE Edit: Inspired by Formula One and birds of paradise, Hermès’ colour-popping autumn/winter 2020 women’s silk collection is anything but boring

Oct 28 , 2020

Extravagantly patterned silks and fine leathers are the cornerstones of Hermès autumn/winter 2020 women’s collections. Photos: Hermès

Don’t be boring. Not in life, not in conversation, and definitely not in fashion. If classic monochrome and simplicity are the cornerstones of the fashion theatre, colour and design is graffiti that’s sprayed across the front.

Your fashion should shake you out of your day-to-day; it should make a statement that announces your presence when you walk into a room; and, more than that, it should make you look in the mirror and feel alive and untouchable in the energy swirling around you.

Wildlife and colour go hand in hand in Hermès’ autumn/winter 2020 women’s silk collection. Photo: Hermès

The Hermès autumn/winter 2020 women’s silk collection is anything but boring. Bold and colourful, the collection lets the pieces create the narrative and instil a sense of fantasy and luxury in the wearer.

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Besides Hermès’ historical equestrian roots, the season was inspired by myriad items and experiences – watchmaking, the Far West, posters from the 20s, 19th century peddlers’ catalogues. The materials used are what we’ve come to expect from the heralded house: silk and cashmere in vivid colours, supple lambskin and hand worked metals and, of course, leather pieces that are buttery soft and worked to perfection.

Clothes that scream “get outside”: Hermès’ autumn/winter 2020 women’s silk collection.

Take the Hermès Della Cavalleria bag, for example. Created out of Tadelakt calfskin, the bag’s soft curves are balanced with a jewel clasp shaped like a bridle bit. This extraordinary silver piece accentuates and hugs the bag’s contours, moving deliberately and delicately.

Masterfully crafted, it’s accompanied by an adjustable strap and comes in two formats: a satchel style bag for daytime and a miniature version for night.

Who says cashmere can’t be fun? Hermès’ autumn/winter 2020 women’s collection. Photo: Hermès

The scarves of this season all touch on the emotive subjects of travel and escape, and cover subject matter from wildlife to Formula One. Some are new, like the Toucans de Paradis scarf illustrated by Katie Scott; the shimmering colours of toucans and birds of paradise inspired her to create an imaginary species with decorative plumage.

Others are classics, like the Les Léopards Modernes wash scarf that combines two of the house’s emblematic designs – stylised leopards created in 1967 by Christiane Vauzelles, and the harness-buckle arrangement by Françoise de La Perrière, designed in the 1970s.

Hermès’ autumn/winter 2020 women’s collection offers a kaleidoscope of colours. Photo: Hermès

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The Kelly Clochette jewellery line in rose gold is a tribute to the chain-making expertise and leatherwork heritage of the house. Coming in three iterations – a long necklace, bracelet and double ring – the chain takes a central role in this reinterpretation of the brand’s signature “clochette” charm, which is a small leather envelope protecting the keys of the Kelly bag padlock.

For beauty, Hermès introduces Rouge Hermès, the brand’s sixteenth métier. In this inaugural collection dedicated to the beauty of the lips, a palette of 24 iconic lipsticks – 14 shades with a satin finish and 10 with a matt finish – will be joined each season by three temporary limited-edition lipsticks.

Conceived as a complete ritual, Rouge Hermès includes a lip care balm, a Poppy lip shine, a universal lip pencil and a lip brush in lacquered wood.

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Style Edit

Channelling diverse subjects from wildlife to motorsports – and evoking the emotive urges to travel and escape – the French luxury house is adding some much-needed colour to women’s wardrobes for winter