Hermes designer bows out after 37 years with final menswear show in Paris

Hermes menswear designer Véronique Nichanian presented her final collection on Saturday in Paris after nearly four decades in the role, as the 71-year-old prepared to pass the baton to young British designer Grace Wales Bonner.

R&B star Usher mingled with Hermes executive chairman Axel Dumas ahead of the Paris Fashion Week show in the Palais Brongniart, with a more star-studded crowd than usual for the luxury house known for eschewing flashy marketing and celebrity ambassadors.

Models wore silk turtlenecks with leather trousers in a navy blue, black and taupe palette. Overcoats featured leather patches and shearling lining.

A shiny khaki crocodile-skin suit was a standout look, while Nichanian also mixed in pieces from earlier collections, like a navy leather suit with topstitched pinstripes from 2003 and a mocha calfskin jumpsuit from 1991. Jackets in orange and yellow provided flashes of colour.

Walking out to close the show, Nichanian got a standing ovation from an audience including fellow designer Paul Smith, rapper Travis Scott and actors James McAvoy and Chace Crawford.

Wales Bonner named by Hermes in October, is the first Black woman to lead a major fashion house. She will present her debut menswear collection next January.

-Helen Reid/Reuters