Hermès: Paradox as a guiding principle

Extending tradition through innovation – the details are what set these designs apart, whether a slanted “saddle pocket” or a shirt with a “surprise fold.” In a masterful fade-in of khakis, basalt, petroleum anise, heather, crocus pumpkin, flint, brown and peat, black emerges a subtle palette of its own. Double-breasted coats, reversible teddy parka jackets and high-collared zip-up sweatshirts seem to move from outside to inside with chameleon-like fluidity; the 'flannel stag' demonstrates how skin is crafted like fabric and how fabric – Prince of Wales wool, compact cotton poplin – fuses with each silhouette to convey a sense of comfort, a sense of travel, a sense of the cross-over between the office and the countryside.  Through both rigour and suppleness, the functional and the beautiful merge. Once night falls, there is no protocol, and the tailored trousers worn with neo-silks soften the very idea of an invitation, drastically dismantling whatever remotely betrays movement for the sake of duty. A prodigious lesson in allure.