The venue, the Mobilier National — responsible for the storage and administration of the French Republic’s collection of furniture and objects used to decorate ministries, palaces, chateaux and embassies — served as the perfect backdrop for Véronique Nichanian’s modern updates on men’s wear classics, as an emblem of France’s patrimony, and the excellence of its artisans.
This was evident right from the super-elegant first look: a classic double-breasted navy wool coat with engraved silver coins for buttons, worn with a zipped almond-hued polo shirt and foulard in a contrast green, and paired with blue leather pants and big boots that broke the formality.
Throughout, the designer added bits of casualness to the luxurious well-cut wardrobe, including a gray double-breasted pinstriped formal suit worn with a relaxed polo shirt. Camel puffers sported silver linings.
Hermès Men's Fall 2019
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Graphic interludes included jacquard knits with big interlocking cubes spinning across the front, and a great racing-style blouson in color-blocked sections of white, brown and Hermès-orange leather.
Adding mystery, and possibly a call to China as consumers there pull back on luxury goods, was the subtle dragon theme weaving through, with silver dragon pendant necklaces accessorizing a lot of the looks, and stylized winged beasts crouching on the sides of the boxy leather bags, marked out in tonal velvet.
Tonal flames also flickered in the fabric of a mesh turtleneck sweater, while a lot of pieces in the rich outerwear offer, including a trench in a glossy leather and sheepskin jacket, came in combinations of black and dark red.