Paris Fashion Week continued Saturday with Hermès using more than lighting and runway choreography to set its tone. Guests at the brand’s show in Paris began by smelling damp moss, as the Garde Républicaine—the grand barracks of Paris’ mounted police—had been transformed into a forest-floor environment, carpeted with thick, wet moss that filled the air with the scent of humus.
In a fashion calendar still featuring other major houses to come, Hermès framed its argument for luxury through atmosphere rather than announcement. The show set did not rely on overt “gimmicks,” instead using the sensory setup and the way models moved through the space to change what the room felt like, as guests watched silhouettes emerge from circular openings in the walls and walk a raised catwalk above the vegetation.
Nadège Vanhée, who has led Hermès womenswear since 2014, titled the fall-winter collection “Entre chien et loup,” a French expression for dusk—the uneasy time when, as the phrase implies, the distinction between dog and wolf can blur. Hermès show notes also invoked Hecate, the torch-wielding goddess associated with darkness, though the designs emphasized physicality and movement as the translation of the mood.
Leather dominated the wardrobe, with fluid overcoats carrying enormous Tuscan sheepskin collars and zip-front mini dresses in an inky blue that opened to reveal contrasting shirts beneath. Among the standout pieces was an orange ostrich-leather jumpsuit belted at the waist, combining a biker edge with what the show presented as Hermès refinement.
The equestrian lineage showed up in jodhpurs and flat-heeled riding boots, while other pairings pushed the codes into a harder, more urban direction. Glossy lambskin cycling shorts appeared with aviator jackets, and tailored structure was reinforced through double-breasted blazers and cigarette trousers, which helped anchor the collection’s darker mood in sharp silhouettes.
Hermès also used color and detailing to suggest that night was not simply black. The palette moved from sulfur yellow to oxblood red and from forest green to iridescent burgundy, with surfaces that caught and shifted under light, and zips appeared repeatedly—slicing diagonally across jackets or running along the full length of dresses—presented as both functional and decorative.
Alongside the structured and leather-heavy pieces, quilted silks printed with cloud-strewn skies offered a brief softness within the overall darkening picture. The collection ultimately landed with what the show conveyed as “quiet force,” using the dusk-ready staging and the garments’ details to bring the theme into the body rather than leaving it as mere theater.