PARIS – Add Hermès to the list of luxury brands seeking a new creative director.
The French house on Friday released a statement officially confirming the departure of its men’s artistic director Véronique Nichanian, without naming a successor. It said her final collection would be presented on Jan. 24 during Paris Men’s Fashion Week.
According to sources, an internal successor could be named. Among Nichanian’s longest-serving deputies is designer Benjamin Brett.
A spokeswoman for Hermès had confimed late on Thursday that Nichanian was stepping down, following the publication of the designer’s exit interview with French daily Le Figaro. With a 37-year tenure, she was fashion’s longest-serving creative director.
“We thank Véronique warmly for her eye, her vision, her generosity, her energy and her curiosity. Propelled by her talent, conviction and whimsy, she has guided the destiny of a man who walks with allure. The success of the men’s universe owes much to her,” the brand said.
A graduate of the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, Nichanian began her career at Cerruti, working under Nino Cerruti.
She was asked to join Hermès in 1988 by its legendary chief executive officer Jean-Louis Dumas, becoming one of the few women leading a menswear division at a major luxury house. During her tenure, the brand has grown into an industry behemoth, with revenues of 15.2 billion euros in 2024.
“Working for Hermès since 1988 has been an immense pleasure. I am very proud to be part of this big family in which I have been able to flourish and enjoy total creative freedom,” the 71-year-old designer said in the statement issued by Hermès.
“As someone attached to work of the hand and attentive to the emotion of a garment, I have continuously sought to reinvent my approach to the vêtement-objet by developing a contemporary wardrobe where materials are mixed, techniques are combined, and innovation and heritage are brought together,” Nichanian added.
“My wish has always been to create clothes of today for the long term. To me, there is not an Hermès man; there are Hermès men,” she concluded.
Nichanian thanked the late Jean-Louis Dumas and current Hermès CEO Axel Dumas, his nephew, as well as the brand’s artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas, his son. “I also thank my studio, warmly, for all of these shared years, these shared adventures,” she said.
She told Le Figaro that she had been discussing handing over her duties with the two senior executives for the last couple of years.
“Hermès was gracious enough to let me choose the moment that felt right to step away,” she told the paper. “Now feels like the right time to pass the baton.”
Her spring 2026 was a condensé of her signature style, combining sensual textures – think leather openwork weave on shirts and trousers, rough edges on jaunty silk twill bandanas, and ribbed and nubby knits – with a breezy sense of luxury.
“Within men’s fashion, Véronique has contributed in a major way to the creation of a contemporary style through her perpetual reinvention of clothing and its uses as well as through her constant research around materials, know-how and color,” Hermès said.
“And if one feels so good in her clothes, it is because throughout all these years she has always taken sincere, authentic pleasure in dressing men. She has given them a silhouette – a chic, discreet and timeless elegance – and invented personal details for them, details she lovingly calls ‘selfish,’” it added.
The announcement is the latest shakeup in the creative director ranks at major European luxury houses, including Chanel, Dior and Balenciaga. In comparison, Hermès has been a paragon of stability. Nadège Vanhee, its artistic director of women’s ready-to-wear, has been in the post since 2014.
Among the leading menswear designers currently without a portfolio are Kim Jones, who stepped down as artistic director of men’s collections at Dior in January, and Hedi Slimane, who left his post as artistic, creative and image director of Celine in October 2024.
The upheaval comes as brands battle to reverse a slowdown in luxury consumption worldwide, with aspirational consumers turning their backs on high-ends goods after several years of steep price increases in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Hermès has benefited from its safe-haven status, as the rarity of its handbags make them investment pieces whose value often increases, rather decreases, over time.
Its ready-to-wear and accessories division has also proved a solid earner, with sales rising 6 percent in the first half, helping the company outperform its sector peers. The division now accounts for 28 percent of sales at Hermès.
– With contributions from Miles Socha
