creative director<\/a>, would depart after presenting her final collection on Jan. 24 during Paris Men\u2019s Fashion Week.<\/p>\n\n\tThe house is expected to announce her replacement in the next few days, and sources believe an internal successor could be named. Among Nichanian\u2019s longest-serving deputies is designer Benjamin Brett, who joined Herm\u00e8s in 2010 from Yves Saint Laurent, according to his LinkedIn profile.<\/p>\n
\n\tAnother alternative would be for Herm\u00e8s to broaden the remit of Nad\u00e8ge Vanhee, its artistic director of women\u2019s ready-to-wear. Or the house, whose past creative directors include Martin Margiela and Jean Paul Gaultier, could bring on board another star designer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tAmong the leading menswear figures currently without a portfolio are Kim Jones, who stepped down as artistic director of men\u2019s collections at Dior in January, and Hedi Slimane, who left his post as artistic, creative and image director of Celine in October 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be out of the realm of possibility that a star designer goes there again,\u201d said Mary Gallagher, senior consultant at Find executive consulting. \u201cIt would just probably have to be one that would conform to being in this legacy family company.\u201d <\/p>\n
\n\tWhatever happens, luxury experts expect Herm\u00e8s to choose continuity over radical change, especially since its ready-to-wear business is strong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI see this as a natural transition, and I don\u2019t attach great consequence to the change. Creative directors will continue to have limited visibility at Herm\u00e8s, as the brand prevails more than at other houses,\u201d said Luca Solca, analyst at Bernstein. \u201cHaving said that, Herm\u00e8s has done very well with rtw, and I expect they will work to keep this performance going.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe handover 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.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\n\tHerm\u00e8s has benefited from its safe-haven status, as the rarity of its handbags make them investment pieces that see their value often increase, rather than decrease, over time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThe brand\u2019s 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 Herm\u00e8s. <\/p>\n
\t\tTaking the Long View\t<\/p>\n
\n\tJean Vigneron, a consultant specialized in the creative industries at executive search company Egon Zehnder, said the length of Nichanian\u2019s tenure was matched by only a handful of industry figures, among them Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, and founders like Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThis really shows us once again that Herm\u00e8s operates on its own timeline \u2014 it\u2019s not driven by trends. What\u2019s fascinating is how stable it\u2019s remained, with a long-term perspective that feels very deliberate. It\u2019s less about reacting to what\u2019s going on in the world and more about staying true to a clear identity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\tFar from stodgy, that approach is reaping dividends amidst upheaval at many leading houses, Vigneron noted. \u201cParadoxically, at a time when the world feels incredibly fragmented and complex, the brands that are the most steady, the ones that don\u2019t wildly change direction, seem to be the ones thriving,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\tA graduate of the \u00c9cole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, Nichanian began her career at Cerruti, working under Nino Cerruti.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tShe was asked to join Herm\u00e8s 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. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWorking for Herm\u00e8s 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,\u201d the 71-year-old designer said in the statement issued by Herm\u00e8s.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tHer spring 2026 was a condens\u00e9 of her signature style, combining sensual textures \u2014 think leather openwork weave on shirts and trousers, rough edges on jaunty silk twill bandanas, and ribbed and nubby knits \u2014 with a breezy sense of luxury.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cMy wish has always been to create clothes of today for the long term. To me, there is not an Herm\u00e8s man; there are Herm\u00e8s men,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\n\tLaia Farran Graves, author \u201cThe Story of the H\u00e8rmes Scarf,\u201d said that while Nichanian remained under the radar, her impact on the industry has been considerable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWhat she\u2019s done is pretty incredible. She has brought together comfort, luxury, utility, beauty and simplicity of lines, combined with the heritage, and created this very specific look,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\n\tAbove all, Nichanian managed to project a seamless elegance. \u201cThere\u2019s so much work involved \u2014 a bit like when you see a swan, but underneath, they\u2019re doing all the work,\u201d said Farran Graves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\tA Loyal Team\t<\/p>\n
\n\tHerm\u00e8s lauded her knack for \u201cchic, discreet and timeless elegance\u201d and continuous research around materials, know-how and color. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe thank V\u00e9ronique 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\u2019s universe owes much to her,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
\n\tOne key to her success has been inspiring loyalty in her team, meaning there is a deep well of in-house talent to ensure continuity at the brand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe menswear team has remained very stable. Many of them have grown in stature inside the house and know it inside out. And honestly, I think in menswear, you need a star designer far less than you do in womenswear,\u201d Vigneron said.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe question is whether anyone from that team is ready to step into a more visible role. \u201cShe was never a showboat designer, but it also depends on who likes the limelight and who doesn\u2019t,\u201d Gallagher said.<\/p>\n
\n\tVanhee, meanwhile, has been with the house since 2014. She is widely expected to lead its planned foray into haute couture, which could launch in late 2026 or early 2027, and could also be charged with overseeing the men\u2019s division.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI don\u2019t think that adding couture into Nad\u00e8ge\u2019s remit and adding men to Nad\u00e8ge\u2019s remit would necessarily overextend her. I think the structure would form around her,\u201d said Gallagher, noting that brands like Givenchy already cumulate all three divisions under one designer.<\/p>\n
\n\tBut what sets Herm\u00e8s apart from other luxury houses is that the creative directors of all its divisions report to artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas, the son of Jean-Louis Dumas and cousin of the current CEO, Axel Dumas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThey\u2019ve got trusted people leading each creative department, people who really understand the codes of the house, but there\u2019s an overarching vision, so they\u2019re able to keep everything aligned, like a shepherd keeping the flock together,\u201d Vigneron said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWith so many creative directions and specialized roles, that macro perspective is essential. These are individuals who have the brand\u2019s DNA in their veins \u2014 they really get it, and that\u2019s invaluable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\tWith that in mind, Nichanian\u2019s replacement will have to align with the house\u2019s identity and avoid alienating the core Herm\u00e8s customer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI don\u2019t see a big change coming. The menswear at Herm\u00e8s is like the brand itself: elegant, timeless and efficient,\u201d Vigneron said. \u201cIf someone younger were to come in, sure, they might bring a sharper sensitivity to certain social topics \u2014 that\u2019s natural and generational \u2014 but it would be a matter of nuance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tFarran Graves agreed that Herm\u00e8s has little to gain by tinkering with a winning formula.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI don\u2019t have a crystal ball, but given the structure of the brand and how strong the family ethos is, it would make sense to me that they hire within and keep it really tight and close, because they\u2019re doing really well, unlike some of the other brands,\u201d she said. \u201cI would say it\u2019s still a time to play safe.\u201d
\u00a0
\u2014 With contributions from Miles Socha<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated 2:55 p.m. ET Oct. 17 PARIS \u2014 With the news that V\u00e9ronique Nichanian is stepping down as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12919],"tags":[12715,4953,13393,19771],"class_list":["post-29369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hermes","tag-creative-director","tag-hermes","tag-hermu00e8s","tag-mens"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}