For over a decade, Grace Wales Bonner has been a creative force in the fashion industry, breaking down gender barriers with her designs and runway shows. Namely, her spring/summer 2018 show for her eponymous label, where she embraced queer Black male culture and took inspiration from James Baldwin’s 1956 novel Giovanni’s Room. She’ll get to continue that work with a well-deserved appointment as the new creative director of men’s ready-to-wear at Hermès.
Fashion industry experts expressed their excitement about Wales Bonner’s new position at the fashion house, which is also historic, being that she’s the first Black woman to lead a major fashion house, according to the New York Times.
Though she is taking the mantle for menswear at Hermès until January 2027. Véronique Nichanian, the brand’s current menswear creative director, will be passing the torch to Wales Bonner after 37 years in the position, until she presents one last show at Paris Men’s fashion week in January and the brand will be skipping fashion week in June, giving the new creative director a whole year to construct a collection.
“I am deeply honored to be entrusted with the role of Creative Director of Hermès Men’s Ready-to-Wear,” she said in a statement attached to a press release reported by Vogue. “It is a dream realized to embark on this new chapter, following in a lineage of inspired craftspeople and designers. I wish to express my gratitude to Pierre-Alexis Dumas and Axel Dumas for the opportunity to bring my vision to this magical house.”
Pierre-Alexis, the brand’s General Artistic Director, also spoke a few words about the new creative director in the release, complimenting her forward-looking artistic vision. “Her take on contemporary fashion, craft and culture will contribute to shaping Hermès men’s style, melding the house’s heritage with a confident look on the now,” he said. “Grace’s appetite and curiosity for artistic practice strongly resonate with Hermès’ creative mindset and approach. We are at the start of an enriching mutual dialogue.”
Wales Bonner has been working towards this goal for years, nabbing multiple awards, including the Emerging Menswear Designer prize at the 2015 British Fashion Awards, LVMH Young Designer Prize in 2016, and CFDA International Men’s Designer of the Year.
This appointment is something that Wales Bonner has been interested in since 2019. During an interview with System magazine, she spoke about her long-term career goals and mentioned wanting to helm an influential fashion house. “I am interested in the idea of an institution and fashion having parameters. A house with heritage is interesting to me, because I am interested in a framework and then disrupting elements of classicism within that,” she said at the time. “A dream of mine would be to work with a tailoring brand, as that is at the core of what I am doing. Maybe a brand like Hermès or even a Savile Row tailoring house.”
