Hermès Via Hackney: How London Shapes Nadège Vanhée’s Vision

Key Points

• Nadège Vanhée has described London as a long-standing source of creative inspiration throughout her career in fashion.
• Hermès has opened its new 166 Bond Street flagship, comprising six interconnected five-storey townhouses designed around a spiral staircase by Foster + Partners.
• Vanhée used the London opening to connect with artists and creative figures including Rhea Dillon, Sumayya Vally and Mimi Xu.
• Her relationship with London began as an 18-year-old visiting Kensington Market and later developed through a gap year, the city’s music scene and its alternative cultural communities.
• Vanhée’s career has included positions at Maison Margiela, Celine under Phoebe Philo and The Row before she became Hermès’s womenswear artistic director in 2014.
• Artists and creative figures interviewed by British Vogue highlighted Vanhée’s emphasis on craftsmanship, materiality, discipline and functional luxury.
• Vanhée has maintained links with London’s contemporary art scene and has expressed interest in a new generation of artists working outside conventional decorative approaches.
• Her next major creative step is Hermès’s spring/summer 2027 collection, recognised by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode and due to be presented during Paris Couture Week.
• Hermès artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas has described the French luxury house as “the most British of the French houses”, reflecting the maison’s longstanding relationship with Britain.
• The development illustrates how London’s fashion, art, music and independent creative culture continue to feature in Vanhée’s design outlook.

Extra London News (ELN) October 3, 2026 – Hermès womenswear artistic director Nadège Vanhée has spoken about the continuing influence of London on her creative outlook as the French luxury house establishes a major new presence on Bond Street. The opening of Hermès’s 166 Bond Street flagship brought Vanhée together with a group of London-based cultural figures, including artist Rhea Dillon, architect Sumayya Vally and composer and sound artist Mimi Xu. For Vanhée, the occasion also reflected a relationship with London that began when she was 18 and has continued through different stages of her fashion career.

Why Has London Become Important to Nadège Vanhée’s Creative Vision?

London has played a significant role in Vanhée’s creative development since her first visits to the capital in the 1990s. According to Mahoro Seward of British Vogue, Vanhée arrived in London at the age of 18 after growing up in Seclin, near the Belgian border, and immediately encountered the alternative culture surrounding Kensington Market.

At the time, Kensington Market was associated with an alternative fashion and music community. Vanhée recalled being struck by the people she encountered there and described the environment as a creative workshop. She also returned to London while working for the Lille-based underground rock fanzine Presto!, for which she conducted interviews, including one with Placebo frontman Brian Molko.

The experience exposed Vanhée to a creative environment that was different from conventional luxury fashion. Music, independent fashion, subcultures and visual experimentation became part of her understanding of the city.

Her connection with London continued during a gap year in 1996. She lived in Stockwell and travelled around the capital by night bus while experiencing the city’s nightlife and alternative communities. Those experiences contributed to what Seward describes as Vanhée’s interest in looking beyond surface appearances.

That approach later became relevant to her fashion education and professional development.

How Did Vanhée’s Career Lead Her to Hermès?

Vanhée’s professional career developed across several major fashion houses after her education in Antwerp and Paris.

She studied fashion design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and graduated in 2003. She subsequently moved to Paris to complete a master’s degree at the Institut Français de la Mode.

In 2005, she joined Maison Margiela as part of the design team. Her work there placed her within a house known for its approach to construction, deconstruction and unconventional design.

From 2008 to 2011, Vanhée worked as a senior designer at Celine under Phoebe Philo. During this period she maintained her connection with London.

Her next major move took her to New York, where she became design director at The Row for three years. According to the British Vogue report, she retained support from British creatives while moving between these international fashion centres.

Vanhée eventually joined Hermès as artistic director of womenswear in July 2014, a position she continues to hold.

Her career has therefore developed between several major fashion capitals, but London has remained a recurring part of her personal and professional story.

What Does the New Hermès Bond Street Store Represent?

The new Hermès location at 166 Bond Street is central to the latest chapter of the relationship between the French luxury house and London.

According to Seward’s report for British Vogue, the store consists of six interconnected five-storey townhouses. The architectural scheme incorporates a spiral staircase extended by Foster + Partners, creating a large-scale retail environment rather than a conventional single-store shop.

The building also provided the setting for Vanhée to meet several members of London’s creative community.

Artist Rhea Dillon, architect Sumayya Vally and composer, producer and sound artist Mimi Xu joined Vanhée on the rooftop of the new building. The meeting reflected the artistic director’s interest in creative practitioners whose work extends beyond conventional fashion.

Vanhée described the three women as having determination and authentic voices, while also characterising their work as poetic.

The gathering was therefore presented not simply as part of the store opening, but as an illustration of the cultural connections that Vanhée associates with London.

Who Are the London Creatives Connected With Vanhée?

The three creatives featured in the report have developed separate practices across art, architecture and music.

Sumayya Vally met Vanhée in 2022 through Bettina Korek, chief executive of the Serpentine Galleries. Vally told British Vogue that she sees a connection between her own architectural practice and Vanhée’s approach to craftsmanship.

Vally particularly highlighted Vanhée’s respect for craft while also noting her willingness to move beyond traditional interpretations of it.

Mimi Xu first encountered Vanhée eight years ago through mutual friends in Paris. Xu described Vanhée’s approach in terms of discipline, detail and fabrication, and said the resulting clothing could move between different cultural settings without appearing excessively formal.

Rhea Dillon was introduced to Vanhée’s work through art writer and curator Francesca Gavin in 2021. Dillon focused on what she described as the robustness of Vanhée’s Hermès designs.

According to Dillon, the designs contain a sense of determination and armour, which she connected to Vanhée’s close attention to materials.

These observations provide an indication of how people working outside fashion perceive Vanhée’s approach to clothing.

How Has London’s Art Scene Influenced Vanhée?

Vanhée’s relationship with London extends beyond fashion and music into contemporary art.

She encountered the work of Tracey Emin and Sarah Lucas after arriving in London in the late 1990s. She has described that period as one in which female vulnerability was expressed in an unusually direct and provocative manner.

Her interest in contemporary art has continued throughout her career.

British Vogue reports that Vanhée supports artists including Dillon and has a relationship with the gallery Sprüth Magers. When she is in London, the Serpentine Galleries, Barbican Centre and Whitechapel Gallery are among the cultural institutions she follows.

Vanhée also discussed changes within the contemporary art scene, particularly the emergence of younger artists.

She argued that art does not necessarily have to be decorative and instead can be expected to introduce new meaning. That perspective corresponds with the wider creative philosophy described throughout the interview, in which fashion is connected to material, function, artistic expression and cultural context.

What Ideas Are Behind Vanhée’s Hermès Womenswear?

The interview also provides insight into the ideas informing Vanhée’s current work at Hermès.

Her autumn/winter 2026 collection began with the ancient Greek goddess Hekate as a point of departure. Vanhée linked the collection to the idea of the fleeting nature of looking and discussed what she called a reconciliation between pragmatism and aesthetics.

The combination is significant to the way her work is described in the article. Rather than presenting clothing solely through decorative qualities, the discussion centres on how materials, construction and usefulness can coexist with aesthetic considerations.

This emphasis on craftsmanship is also connected to Hermès’s broader identity.

Vanhée said the house’s commitment to craft represents more than a branding exercise, describing it instead as a discipline and tradition. She also referred to a sense of lightness and eccentricity within Hermès.

The combination of precision and lightness forms part of the creative relationship she continues to associate with London.

What Is Next for Hermès Womenswear Under Vanhée?

Vanhée’s next major project will take her to Paris Couture Week, where she is scheduled to present Hermès’s spring/summer 2027 collection.

According to British Vogue, it will be the first Hermès collection recognised by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. Vanhée described the opportunity as a new form of expression.

The presentation will place her work within an important new stage of the house’s womenswear development.

It also continues the emphasis on craftsmanship that runs through her discussion of Hermès. Her comments suggest that traditional techniques and the discipline associated with the maison remain important while she continues to explore different forms of expression.

The collection will therefore be closely connected to the wider trajectory of Vanhée’s work, although the eventual designs and their reception cannot be established from the information currently available.

Why Does Hermès Describe Itself as Closely Connected to Britain?

The relationship between Hermès and Britain was also emphasised during the opening of 166 Bond Street.

Pierre-Alexis Dumas, Hermès’s artistic director, described the company as “the most British of the French houses” during the unveiling. British Vogue reported that the phrase had previously been used by his grandfather, Robert Dumas, who was responsible for the maison’s expansion during the 1950s.

The statement reflects the historical relationship Hermès has sought to establish with Britain and helps explain the significance attached to the new Bond Street location.

The opening celebrations reinforced that connection through an event at The Hurlingham Club.

The festivities included performances by the London Vegetable Orchestra, dancing topiary hedge displays and a purpose-built Hermès pub called the Horse & Carrot. Vanhée was also seen at the event wearing a red trouser suit while socialising with friends and clients.

The event brought together elements associated with British cultural life and the identity of the French luxury house.

How Does London Continue to Shape Vanhée’s Work?

Vanhée currently lives in Paris, but the account of her career demonstrates that London remains an important reference point.

Her relationship with the capital began through its alternative fashion and music communities before developing through her professional relationships with British creatives and her continued interest in contemporary art.

The opening of 166 Bond Street has created another physical link between Hermès and the city.

For Vanhée, the significance of London appears to lie partly in its mixture of established institutions and alternative creative communities. Her references range from major galleries and luxury retail to underground music, independent fashion history and emerging artists.

That combination helps explain why London continues to appear in discussions about her creative identity despite her professional base in Paris.

What Is the Background to Hermès’s London Development?

Hermès’s Bond Street expansion forms part of a longstanding relationship between the maison and Britain, while Vanhée’s personal history provides a separate but overlapping connection.

The artistic director first encountered London as a teenager and later returned repeatedly during her education and professional career. Her experiences with Kensington Market, underground music, Stockwell nightlife and London’s art scene preceded her work at some of the world’s major fashion houses.

Her career subsequently moved through Antwerp, Paris, London and New York before she joined Hermès in 2014.

The new 166 Bond Street store provides a contemporary setting for those connections. Its scale, architecture and location place Hermès within one of London’s established luxury retail districts while the opening programme also linked the house with contemporary British creative practitioners.

The development therefore brings together two strands of Vanhée’s professional identity: her position within one of France’s best-known luxury houses and her longstanding relationship with London’s broader cultural scene.

How Could This Development Affect Fashion and Luxury Audiences?

For fashion and luxury audiences, the development is likely to provide greater visibility into how Vanhée’s London influences intersect with Hermès’s established approach to craftsmanship.

The immediate focus will be the new Bond Street flagship and Vanhée’s forthcoming spring/summer 2027 collection. The Couture Week presentation could provide a further opportunity to observe how she translates the house’s craft traditions into a collection recognised within the French haute couture framework.

For London-based creative audiences, the Bond Street opening also demonstrates the continuing relationship between Hermès and practitioners from outside traditional fashion circles.

However, the longer-term effect will depend on developments that have not yet occurred, including the response to the spring/summer 2027 collection and the future evolution of the Bond Street location.

What is already clear from Vanhée’s account is that London remains an important reference in her creative history. Her experiences with the city’s alternative culture, music and contemporary art continue to form part of the context surrounding her work at Hermès, while the new Bond Street store gives that relationship a prominent physical presence.