Image via Business of Fashion
Well, this was quite a quick turnaround. Just days after announcing Christophe Lemaire’s departure from Hermès, chief executive Axel Dumas has named Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski the new artistic director. It’s ok if you haven’t heard of her — you’re not the only one. Let’s do our homework:
Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski, 36, is a French designer (big surprise there) and the current design director at The Row, the fabulous fashion brand of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
In other words, this woman is credible, but her résumé goes back even further: she started her career at Delvaux, a Belgian accessories firm, in 2003, then worked at Maison Martin Margiela in Paris from 2005 to 2008, followed by working with the incomparable Phoebe Philo at Céline from 2008 to 2011.It may seem surprising that Dumas hired a relatively unknown fashion name to take creative control of the reputable French luxury brand; however, statements from the executive clearly insinuated the need for a designer who will solely focus on the Hermès brand. In a time when designers are focusing more on their own namesake brands, Lemaire included, this was obviously the perfect opportunity for Dumas to find an aspiring director without their own line to design and promote.
Lemaire’s final collection will be shown on October 1 at Paris Fashion Week, so we won’t see Vanhee’s debut collection for the brand until March 2015 for fall.