Grace Wales Bonner Isn’t Just Joining Hermès—She Is Redefining It
The queen has officially been crowned in authentic artisanal leather.
BY Ava Swidler★ November 4th, 2025
Photo Credit: W magazine
Grace Wales Bonner is stepping into Hermès menswear like someone who already knows the rhythm of the room. At thirty-five, the English-Jamaican designer has been named the new creative director, fulfilling a dream she spoke into existence back in 2019 when she told System Magazine, “A dream of mine would be to work with a brand like Hermès or even a Savile Row tailoring house.”
Manifestation. Precision. Destiny. Probably a mix of all three.
She succeeds Véronique Nichanian, who helmed Hermès menswear for an astonishing thirty-seven years — the longest tenure of any creative director in modern fashion. Nichanian will present her final collection during Paris Men’s Week this January, while Wales Bonner will make her debut in January 2027 — all while continuing to run her own label. Because why choose between legacy and self-authorship when you can do both?
“I am deeply honored to be entrusted with the role,” she said in a statement.“It’s a dream realized to embark on this new chapter, following in the lineage of inspired craftspeople and designers.”
This is a milestone. Wales Bonner is the first Black woman to lead design at Hermès, and one of the few to hold such a position at any major luxury house. This isn’t just representation — it’s a redefinition of what “timeless” looks like in a world finally admitting that elegance was never exclusive to heirs and horse girls vacationing in Gstaad.
Born in London in 1990, she graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2014. Her debut collection, Africa, examined Black masculinity through European tailoring — embroidered velvet, denim, and silk — instantly positioning her as fashion’s philosopher-poet. She launched her label that same year, won the LVMH Prize in 2016, took home CFDA International Men’s Designer of the Year in 2021, earned an MBE in 2022, reimagined Adidas classics into cult favorites, collaborated with Dior, curated at MoMA, and debuted womenswear in 2024.
She hasn’t just built a brand—she’s built a world.
Now, she inherits a house founded in 1837—one long defined by quiet mastery and restraint. But under Wales Bonner, that silence of luxury may start to hum differently. Still refined. Still deliberate. But newly alive. She’ll bring soul to Hermès—honoring tradition while expanding its meaning.
This isn’t just a hire—it’s a narrative shift.
Hermès isn’t chasing relevance; it’s embracing resonance.
Grace Wales Bonner won’t burn tradition—she’ll illuminate it.
Edited by: Madison Sherman