Hermès A/W 2017

Group of models in a row wearing jackets — (Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Mood board: There is that quiet, restrained extravagance to the clothes made by Hermès. The opening look for the A/W 2017 show was a belted wrap-around coat with asymmetrical button front in brown alpaca broadcloth. Worn with a cashmere turtle neck and narrow cotton gabardine trousers, this was a million miles away from the dozens of streetwear-meets-luxury looks taking over the men’s collections in Paris. Never has conservatism seemed so disruptive.

Best in show: This was fundamentally and unequivocally about quality – it was luxury that a lot of men on the street will never be able to afford. The collection focussed on the rhythm of contrasting volumes – a roomy asymmetrical wrap-around coat in technical cashmere was worn with wide, single-pleat lambskin trousers cinched at the waist with a large bum-bag. There were a lot of lean, narrow trousers in soft lambskin with saddle topstitching too.

Finishing touches: Standout were the heavy-tredge ankle boots and the cable-effect sheepskin pullovers. Homage was paid to the label’s iconic saddle boot as buckled straps were applied to updated desert boots with thick lug soles.

Hermès A/W 2017. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Two models posing for the camera, ones face cut out of the frame whilst the other looks away

Two models in close proximity pose for another picture

A room full of people some close up and some preoccupied behind

Three models pose for a picture in front of a clothing rail.

London based writer Dal Chodha is editor-in-chief of Archivist Addendum — a publishing project that explores the gap between fashion editorial and academe. He writes for various international titles and journals on fashion, art and culture and is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. Chodha has been working in academic institutions for more than a decade and is Stage 1 Leader of the BA Fashion Communication and Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. In 2020 he published his first book SHOW NOTES, an original hybrid of journalism, poetry and provocation.