After 37 years at Hermès, Veronique Nichanian leaves a legacy of quiet power

By any measure, 37 years is an extraordinary tenure in fashion. Veronique Nichanian’s departure from Hermès, announced quietly by the house late on Thursday, marks the end of one of the industry’s rarest constants, a creative partnership built on restraint, continuity, and deep respect for materials. Her final show will take place in January, closing a chapter that has defined Hermès’s understated vision of masculine elegance since 1988.

In a business defined by flux, Nichanian was something close to an anomaly. Designers who become “lifers” at brands they didn’t found are exceedingly rare. Today, creative tenures are often measured in seasons rather than years, from the one-season stint of Ludovic de Saint Sernin at Ann Demeulemeester to the more typical five-year cycles as houses look to refresh their image and reawaken consumer interest. Against this backdrop, Nichanian’s longevity feels almost radical.

By coincidence, I was browsing the menswear collection on the Hermès website before the announcement was made public. My eye was drawn to a half-zip sweater, one that might have found its origins in a Patagonia fleece. It had the practical zip breast pocket for storing anything from a small wallet to a mobile phone, but unlike Patagonia’s version, the pocket was skewed, so that when you unzip it, the contents won’t fall out. It was also trimmed in leather. The sleeves, too, had leather inserts snaking around the elbow, a detail that only looks effortless when executed by expert hands. Leather and wool have entirely different properties, and sewing them together in such narrow strips requires a learned precision.

Yes, the eye-watering price of 2,900 euros is more than the average monthly mortgage. But the point is that Hermès is a brand whose customers expect the best, the highest quality, uncompromising craftsmanship, and a quiet sense of assurance. When you have wealth, you don’t settle for second-rate, whether that’s food, wine, service, or fashion. Yet Hermès menswear has never needed to shout to make this point. Rooted in authenticity, you’ll never find the editorial-friendly but impractical thigh-high boots that dominated the Saint Laurent runway this season, nor the logo-strewn knits from Jonathan Anderson’s debut at Dior. The Hermès customer doesn’t want to be styled or branded; he wants to be dressed, for activity, for movement, for life.

Craftsmanship over concept

Her Hermès man was not one for spectacle. Instead, her collections exuded calm precision: the cut of a jacket, the texture of double-face cashmere, the discreet play of proportion and colour. Over nearly four decades, Nichanian built a language that elevated craftsmanship above concept, a philosophy as enduring as the brand’s leather ateliers in Pantin.

Her departure comes amid a wave of creative reshuffles across the luxury sector, as brands search for ways to reignite demand after a period of muted consumption. Yet Hermès, maker of the Birkin and Kelly, has remained largely insulated. Its clients, affluent, loyal, and less swayed by seasonal trends, continue to drive strong sales even as others recalibrate.

The question now is what Hermès will choose to do with its menswear line, and whether it even needs reinvention. The quiet authority of Nichanian’s work has long been integral to the brand’s aura: a kind of luxurious permanence that resists both hype and haste. Her successor, whoever they may be, inherits not a brand in crisis but a near-perfect equilibrium.

Evolution

Still, the broader mood in fashion is one of restlessness. Creative directors are increasingly tasked with generating momentum, not just maintaining identity. Hermès, however, has the rare privilege of patience. It can afford to let its next move unfold slowly, with the same deliberation that defines its craftsmanship. Like Chanel, which took its time to appoint a successor after Virginie Viard’s departure, Hermès can afford to take a long-term view — one rooted in continuity rather than haste, in evolution rather than reinvention.

Nichanian’s exit is more than a change in creative leadership; it’s a reminder of a different rhythm in fashion, one measured in decades rather than drops. Hermès has always built on continuity, not disruption. And in that sense, her legacy may not be replaced at all, but rather extended: a design ethos that endures quietly.