PARIS – Hermès International has announced Grace Wales Bonner as the house’s next menswear creative director.
Wales Bonner will succeed Véronique Nichanian, who announced her departure Oct. 16. Nichanian had been fashion’s longest-serving creative director, after a 37-year tenure at the house.
“I am very happy to welcome Grace into our family of artistic directors. Her contemporary vision of fashion, craftsmanship, and culture will continue to shape the style of Hermès men’s ready-to-wear, confidently blending her perspective on the times with the house’s heritage. Grace’s taste and curiosity for artistic practice strongly resonate with Hermès’ creative approach. This is only the beginning of a dialogue that will continue to grow,” said Hermès artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas.
“I am deeply honored,” added Wales Bonner. “Beginning this new chapter and joining such a lineage of artisans and creators is a dream for me. I express my sincere gratitude to [Hermès chief executive officer] Axel Dumas and Pierre-Alexis Dumas for giving me the opportunity to bring my vision to this truly magical house.”
The move comes as luxury experts widely expected Hermès to choose from inside the house over radical change for the once-in-a-generation handover, especially since its ready-to-wear business is strong.
Wales Bonner presents her decade-old namesake brand in Paris. Her most recent collection was brimming with Wales Bonner’s signature high-low tailoring, adding pizazz to formal tailoring and her signature pearl touches, as noted in WWD’s review.
Her work is known for its cerebral quality and an intimate connection to history, identity and art. She reimagines classic tailoring, incorporating textured embellishments, artisanal craftsmanship and cross-cultural elements.
She draws inspiration from art, film and the experiences of the African diaspora on both sides of the Atlantic. Ahead of her fall 2024 show last year, she did much of her research at Howard University’s Moorland- Spingarn Research Center, where she was looking at the institution’s sporting, musical and literary history. The show unfurled at the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts, and had a collegiate spin.
British-Jamaican Wales Bonner is a graduate of the 2014 class of Central Saint Martins, and has won acclaim for her collections built upon a thesis of the global visual and intellectual experience of Black culture without foregoing a respect for Savile Row tailoring, and just enough streetwear influences to push her brand of cultural luxury into the greater global fashion conversation.
Upon graduating in 2014, her thesis collection “Afrique” won the L’Oreal Professonal Talent Award. A year later she debuted at the London menswear collections under her namesake label Wales Bonner. The collection titled “Ebonics” won the British Fashion Award for Emerging Menswear Designer.
In 2016 she won the LVMH Young Designer Prize. Soon after, she would add womenswear to her collections. A sneaker collaboration with Adidas followed in 2020. The accolades continued. In 2023, she was the invited guest designer at spring edition of Pitti Uomo.
Like many up-and-coming young designers in WWD’s lens during the timeline inclusive of Virgil Abloh, her collaborations have not been limited to fashion. The designer has also partnered with Dior and artist Kerry James Marshall.
In 2023, she was tapped to curate an exhibition with the Museum of Modern Art in New York for its “Artist Choice” series, and firmly established her as a designer to watch.
Hermès’ third quarter financial results will be released Wednesday morning before market opening.
