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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 rigorous and meticulous ways that this 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. The appointment gives the Birkin bag maker a 35-year-old designer known for her unique way of melding fine tailoring with broad cultural research, with a string of awards under her belt."With Wales Bonner, Hermes will have a creative talent who knows how to mix the exacting standards of Western luxury, which include the utmost attention to craft and quality, with diverse cultural influences whether they're from Africa, India or the Caribbean," said Serge Carreira, an affiliated professor of fashion and luxury at Sciences Po in Paris. "She has an idea of beauty that's very contemporary and singular, as opposed to stilted, with a strong attention to detail."Wales Bonner is replacing Veronique Nichanian, 71, who has held that role for 37 years and will present her last menswear show in January, Hermes said. Wales Bonner's appointment is part of a large-scale renewal in creative talent at the world's biggest luxury houses. In just the past year, new designers have landed at Celine, Christian Dior Couture, Chanel, Gucci, Loewe, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta and Fendi, a changing of the guard that has sometimes coincided with a generational shift.For Hermes, the Wales Bonner appointment is something of a novelty. In contrast with other fashion labels that sign on designers who are stars in their own right, Hermes has traditionally cultivated a strong artistic culture internally, with very few of its creative directors having reputations that outshine the brand. Live EventsWales Bonner's "take on contemporary fashion, craft and culture will contribute to shaping Hermes men's style," Pierre-Alexis Dumas, an Hermes heir who oversees the label's artistic direction, said in a press release this week.Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) Read More News onHermes new designerGrace Wales BonnerRaf Simonsluxury housemenswear designerHermesSystem magazine (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onHermes new designerGrace Wales BonnerRaf Simonsluxury housemenswear designerHermesSystem magazine(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless Explore More Stories123
