Christophe Lemaire to Leave Hermes; Axel Dumas Faces His First Real Test
By VANESSA FRIEDMAN
More fashion musical chairs! The Hermés women’s wear designer Christophe Lemaire is leaving “to dedicate myself fully” to his own line. The show in October will be his last.
Anyway, the news comes at an interesting time: Hermés just released its results for the first half of 2014 and ready-to-wear and accessories were up 16 percent — more than leather goods or silks (granted, it was starting at a lower level, but still). That raises the question: Will the fashion house continue to invest in women’s wear, or pull back?
This will be the first real test of Axel Dumas, the chief executive who took the reins earlier this year, and his strategic plans for the brand.
Although Hermés is still widely known as a leather goods and silks brand, Mr. Lemaire’s recent shows had been well-received, and he was quietly carving out a convincing style for the luxury name, focused on extraordinary materials and style over fashion.
It came as a sort of antidote to the much more showy work of Jean Paul Gaultier, who had been hired by the former chief executive, Jean-Louis Dumas. Despite being at the brand seven years, from 2003 to 2010, Mr. Gaultier never seemed entirely comfortable with Hermés’s understated approach as defined by its first catwalk designer, Martin Margiela (1997-2003), who was famous for setting his shows to the murmured conversation of women.
Though the “leaving to concentrate on his own brand” line can be interpreted in many ways — some good, some less so — it seems to be genuine in this case. Hermés, however, isn’t saying much about what happens next.
To be specific, Mr. Dumas said: “I am very grateful to Christophe for the passion with which he has addressed and enriched the expression of our house in women’s ready-to-wear. Under his artistic direction the métier has renewed its aesthetic and produced very satisfactory financial results. I wish him the greatest success with his own label which is so close to his heart.”
Nice — and bland.
So will Mr. Dumas follow his late uncle’s strategy and go for a big name, who will bring buzz and global notoriety (and potentially higher costs) to the Hermés shows? Will he take a step back, and go for someone less famous, who might be humbler in the face of the house’s heritage? Will he pull back from women’s wear entirely?
And will LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which owns 23 percent of the shares but thus far has been a seemingly silent investor, have any say in the matter?
All possibilities are on the table. It’s always a big deal when a major house changes designers, but I’d say this is a particularly big one. Not just because Hermés is such a feted name but because what it does next — demonstrate a belief in the power of the Fashion Show (yes, capital letters intended) as a marketing tool or not — could influence the whole industry.
No pressure there, then. Young designers, start your lobbying.
What he did for the house of Hermès was exquisite and made me pay attention again to their womenswear. I hope they find someone as good as him.
