FOR 37 YEARS, we have witnessed the supremacy of Véronique Nichanian at Hermès. During that time, the Artistic Director for the French Maison’s menswear collections curated a sartorial language that built on the idea of sensuality, movement and lightness. Clothes for the city that were inspired by pleasure: travel, pastoral leisure, the details of the fabric.

Nichanian’s language was one that she refined through repetition, evolving the elements of her clothing season by season Across three decades, this continual fine-tuning meant that Nichanian’s Hermès was promised a wardrobe that allowed him to move through the world with ease. Whether that was walking, waiting, travelling or to simply relax in.

It feels passe to say something like Nichanian had saved the best until last for her final bow at the house. Instead, it might be better to continue the metaphor of clothing as vocabulary: the fall/winter 2026 collection achieved a perfect, poetic fluency.

The collection was supremely pragmatic, a wardrobe that drifted between elegant tailoring, outerwear and knitwear. Shearling, calfskin, cashmere, and silk added an extra layer of sumptuousness. 

Archival references were folded back into the present with characteristic discretion. Pieces first conceived decades earlier resurfaced without nostalgia, proving their relevance through wear rather than quotation. A leather jumpsuit from the early nineties, aviator silhouettes from the early 2000s and pinstriped leather tailoring appeared less as history lessons than as evidence of a system that never rushed.

Alongside these returns came new proposals. The aforementioned shearling was dyed a softened coral pink, stripe embroidered overshirts and orange soled ankle boots brought warmth and humour to the deeper notes of peat, taupe, charcoal and midnight blue. This was a signature of Nichanian, a twist woven into the details of a timeless piece of menswear.

A black crocodile suit drew suitable gasps as it came down the runway. It wasn’t the final look, but it was the perfect punctuation to Nichanian’s time at Hermès. But her choice of final look offered the biggest insight into how she felt departing from a role she has held for four decades. The dark crocodile coat over black silk trousers and a high-neck sweater, distilled her instincts into a single gesture. It was direct, precise and lightly playful, chosen simply because it pleased her. Nichanian’s farewell was a presentation of something that brought her joy.

The arrival of Grace Wales Bonner might signal an exciting new chapter at the Maison, this collection set a clear standard. Seen as a whole, Nichanian’s final show for Hermès revealed what she has always argued through practice: great designs are an act of patience. Style is built through consistency. In an industry addicted to acceleration, her final Hermès collection offered something rarer: confidence in standing still long enough for clothes, and people, to endure.

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