New Hermes designer brings indie flair

Wales Bonner’s appointment is a novelty at Hermes. The 35-year-old designer’s first show for the luxury house will be in January 2027.

IN a 2019 System magazine interview, Grace Wales Bonner praised menswear designer Raf Simons for being “very uncompromising,” saying “it is a really beautiful thing to see in this era”.

The quality dear to Wales Bonner is also prized at Hermes, the 188-year-old French luxury house famed for its rigourous and meticulous ways that last week appointed her its new creative director of men’s ready-to-wear collections, making her the only black woman to lead design at a major European luxury house.