On Hermès and Haute Couture
Last week, Hermès executive chairman Axel Dumas confirmed the Maison’s intention to develop a Haute Couture collection. Less surprising than the addition of this new Métier to Hermès’ roster was the relatively subdued reaction in the industry press. To be sure, the announcement was overshadowed by discussion of the House’s financial results, which cemented its position as an industry growth leader at a time when luxury’s winning formula seems to have lost its magic.
In that light, the Maison’s move into Haute Couture felt like the Maison’s next step in outshining long-time rivals Chanel and Dior - the final missing piece in transforming a leathergoods House into a fashion one.
But the announcement raises key questions about the strategic purpose of Haute Couture collections in today’s industry. Once considered the apex of creativity and craftsmanship, Haute Couture was a fountain from which all trends emerged and descended upon the masses. Now, Haute Couture’s impact - both in terms of EMV and cultural visibility - is largely eclipsed by prêt à porter.
Is Haute Couture another high-value, low-volume category destined to court a small handful of top clients - on par with fine jewelery, watchmaking, and all the other categories experiencing growth in the luxury turndown? Is it a noble art that sits outside of the fashion cycle, another success in the kind of technical craft that drives differentiation for the Maison Hermès?
“What’s interesting to us is savoir-faire (…) we thought to ourselves, why not?” said Dumas with the Maison’s characteristic insouciant tone, before continuing, “This didn’t happen through strategy and marketing.”
Strategy, indeed. It certainly does feel like a timely decision when the Maison’s PàP Métier is beginning to rival leathergoods, at 4.4B and 6.4B, respectively. Perhaps even more insightfully, they’ve chosen to invest in the one category that cannot be copied - right when the overexposure of hero products Birkin and Kelly are leading the Maison to wage a public battle against dupe culture.
A few key arguments for the potential of Hermès Haute Couture, below.
1/Haute Couture isn’t just a collection, it’s an art de vivre - and that’s Hermès’ strongest value. Unlike leathergoods or PàP, haute couture collections are inherently exclusive. Production is slower, intentional, and of course entirely personalized - often necessitating multiple fittings. Clients are invited to the showroom, or teams travel around the world to meet them.
In that sense, it’s a natural extension of Hermès’ existing clienteling strategy, in which access is predicated on long-term relationship building and engagement. It’s a posture that’s come under public scrutiny over the past few years, criticized for its transactional nature - but Haute Couture collections are, by nature, immune to being “peihoued.”
Haute Couture offers Hermès ample opportunity to fully express the playful, expressive spirit that characterizes its signature art de vivre across a wealth of new service and experience touchpoints.
2/Hermès has perfect mastery of the Haute Couture lexicon. While each of the 16+ Maisons that currently form the Chambre syndicale de la Haute Couture adopts a distinct posture with regard to their Haute Couture collections, most communications are based on four key semantic axes: savoir-faire, creativity, culture, and clients.
With an unrivaled legitimacy in savoir-faire - particularly the notion of “les mains Hermès” and the hand-craftmanship that characterizes its leathergoods - Hermès will enjoy an incredible freedom to seize Haute Couture as the next extension of its patrimonial know-how and its Made in France halo. And if and when the House chooses to extend that positioning into arts and culture and singular client experiences, they’ll be more than welcome there, too.
3/Haute Couture is the ultimate expression of IYKYK luxury. Haute Couture sales are consistent, and even growing, for some leading Houses, following a wider industry trend of strong value performance at the very top end of the product offer.
If there’s been a few bumps in the road with regard to public perception and percieved relevance over the past few years, that’s partly the fault of the Maisons themselves for failing to educate a new generation of clients to the unique specificities fo Haute Couture.
Once a challenge, now an opportunity: if Haute Couture collections must be understood to be appreciated, then they’re the perfect lever for the kind of insider knowledge and cultural capital that still builds brand halos and drives desirability, especially among luxury brand-saturated HNWI. The Birkin’s not exactly “IYKYK luxury” anymore - but Haute Couture certainly can be.
(And just in case anyone was really worried, earned media values from the AW 25 collections show that Haute Couture is indeed on the up and up: market leader Chanel drew a whopping 38.7M without a creative director at the helm, while Ludovic de Saint Sernin recouped a tough turn at Ann D with a highly-viewed guest collection at Jean Paul Gaultier.
Naturally, both Houses had the prescience to leverage mega stars like Kylie Jenner and Blackpink’s Jennie…)
4/Hermès is well-positioned to disrupt a category ready for creative renewal. In 1997, Jean-Louis Dumas - then CEO of Hermès - made the controversial choice to bring on designer Martin Margiela as creative director of the House’s ready-to-wear collections. That kind of pas de côté was intended to challenge the Maison’s bon chic, bon genre reputation in favour of creative renewal and continuous evolution. (Debo, 2017)
With Hermès’ first Haute Couture collections planned for 2026 or 2027, searches for a creative director will likely be beginning - and will certainly be the topic of much discussion and debate. In any case, one might hope that the Maison will continue to favor the kind of risk-taking and décalage that built its reputation.
As a collection, Haute Couture is uniquely primed for creative and techinical feats. Because pieces don’t need to be reproducable at scale, they’re often the ultimate expression of license and liberty for designers, who are able to experiment with new techniques, materials, and constructions. For many Houses, they’re more akin to works of art than garments.
With creative power and legitimacy on technical abilities in the bag - even if Axel Dumas admits that the investment in métiers d’art required to produce Haute Couture poses a challenge to the House’s vertical integration - Hermès could do exciting work here.
Finally, Hermès has a unique competitive advantage: its perception as a relatively ‘gender neutral’ brand that appeals equally to women and men. Haute Couture was once “by law” exclusively feminine. But with more men interested in Haute Couture, the expansion of menswear brands like Thom Browne into the space, and growing visibility of collections like Margiela Artisanal, that reputation is falling away.
Could Hermès be the first mainstream House of Haute Couture for men?
5/Haute Couture will elevate the rest of the Maison’s activity in the fashion space - if they can compete with the incumbents. The potential brand halo of Haute Couture hasn’t quite lost its shine, and the collection is an opportunity to raise the perceived value of the House’s ready-to-wear pieces at a time when the category is becoming a driver of growth and diversification - an essential move at a time when an over-reliance on leather goods poses a strategic risk in an oversaturated market.
Of course, they’ll have a lot of competition to get there. The Haute Couture market is currently lead in EMV by Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Schiaparelli, Dior, and Valentino. Among them, Chanel and Dior are patrimonial French Houses with unrivaled muscle behind them; JPG and and Schiaparelli are both surfing the visibility of star creative directors.
And if the Maison Hermès chooses to concentrate its positioning on savoir-faire, they’ll also face competition from collections like Chanel’s Métiers d’art - and the Maison’s extensive investments in the petites Maisons that support them. Finally, there are the (supposedly) strict criteria required to obtain the appellation of the Chambre syndicale and the systematic appearance of guest members, like Balenciaga, who cannibalize the visibility of historic Houses.
Alas, none of these seem to frighten the intrepid Hermès. “What’s sure is that it’s going to bring us trouble, but also pleasure,” quipped Axel Dumas. What better summary of the art de vivre Hermès than joy in the dogged pursuit of the sublime? That’s a great spirit to bring to Haute Couture - and a potentially powerful move for a Maison that’s never done with surprises.
On Hermès and Haute Couture
Last week, Hermès executive chairman Axel Dumas confirmed the Maison’s intention to develop a Haute Couture collection. Less surprising than the addition of this new Métier to Hermès’ roster was the relatively subdued reaction in the industry press. To be sure, the announcement was overshadowed by discussion of the House’s financial results, which cemented its position as an industry growth leader at a time when luxury’s winning formula seems to have lost its magic.
In that light, the Maison’s move into Haute Couture felt like the Maison’s next step in outshining long-time rivals Chanel and Dior - the final missing piece in transforming a leathergoods House into a fashion one.
But the announcement raises key questions about the strategic purpose of Haute Couture collections in today’s industry. Once considered the apex of creativity and craftsmanship, Haute Couture was a fountain from which all trends emerged and descended upon the masses. Now, Haute Couture’s impact - both in terms of EMV and cultural visibility - is largely eclipsed by prêt à porter.
Is Haute Couture another high-value, low-volume category destined to court a small handful of top clients - on par with fine jewelery, watchmaking, and all the other categories experiencing growth in the luxury turndown? Is it a noble art that sits outside of the fashion cycle, another success in the kind of technical craft that drives differentiation for the Maison Hermès?
“What’s interesting to us is savoir-faire (…) we thought to ourselves, why not?” said Dumas with the Maison’s characteristic insouciant tone, before continuing, “This didn’t happen through strategy and marketing.”
Strategy, indeed. It certainly does feel like a timely decision when the Maison’s PàP Métier is beginning to rival leathergoods, at 4.4B and 6.4B, respectively. Perhaps even more insightfully, they’ve chosen to invest in the one category that cannot be copied - right when the overexposure of hero products Birkin and Kelly are leading the Maison to wage a public battle against dupe culture.
A few key arguments for the potential of Hermès Haute Couture, below.
1/Haute Couture isn’t just a collection, it’s an art de vivre - and that’s Hermès’ strongest value. Unlike leathergoods or PàP, haute couture collections are inherently exclusive. Production is slower, intentional, and of course entirely personalized - often necessitating multiple fittings. Clients are invited to the showroom, or teams travel around the world to meet them.
In that sense, it’s a natural extension of Hermès’ existing clienteling strategy, in which access is predicated on long-term relationship building and engagement. It’s a posture that’s come under public scrutiny over the past few years, criticized for its transactional nature - but Haute Couture collections are, by nature, immune to being “peihoued.”
Haute Couture offers Hermès ample opportunity to fully express the playful, expressive spirit that characterizes its signature art de vivre across a wealth of new service and experience touchpoints.
2/Hermès has perfect mastery of the Haute Couture lexicon. While each of the 16+ Maisons that currently form the Chambre syndicale de la Haute Couture adopts a distinct posture with regard to their Haute Couture collections, most communications are based on four key semantic axes: savoir-faire, creativity, culture, and clients.
With an unrivaled legitimacy in savoir-faire - particularly the notion of “les mains Hermès” and the hand-craftmanship that characterizes its leathergoods - Hermès will enjoy an incredible freedom to seize Haute Couture as the next extension of its patrimonial know-how and its Made in France halo. And if and when the House chooses to extend that positioning into arts and culture and singular client experiences, they’ll be more than welcome there, too.
3/Haute Couture is the ultimate expression of IYKYK luxury. Haute Couture sales are consistent, and even growing, for some leading Houses, following a wider industry trend of strong value performance at the very top end of the product offer.
If there’s been a few bumps in the road with regard to public perception and percieved relevance over the past few years, that’s partly the fault of the Maisons themselves for failing to educate a new generation of clients to the unique specificities fo Haute Couture.
Once a challenge, now an opportunity: if Haute Couture collections must be understood to be appreciated, then they’re the perfect lever for the kind of insider knowledge and cultural capital that still builds brand halos and drives desirability, especially among luxury brand-saturated HNWI. The Birkin’s not exactly “IYKYK luxury” anymore - but Haute Couture certainly can be.
(And just in case anyone was really worried, earned media values from the AW 25 collections show that Haute Couture is indeed on the up and up: market leader Chanel drew a whopping 38.7M without a creative director at the helm, while Ludovic de Saint Sernin recouped a tough turn at Ann D with a highly-viewed guest collection at Jean Paul Gaultier.
Naturally, both Houses had the prescience to leverage mega stars like Kylie Jenner and Blackpink’s Jennie…)
4/Hermès is well-positioned to disrupt a category ready for creative renewal. In 1997, Jean-Louis Dumas - then CEO of Hermès - made the controversial choice to bring on designer Martin Margiela as creative director of the House’s ready-to-wear collections. That kind of pas de côté was intended to challenge the Maison’s bon chic, bon genre reputation in favour of creative renewal and continuous evolution. (Debo, 2017)
With Hermès’ first Haute Couture collections planned for 2026 or 2027, searches for a creative director will likely be beginning - and will certainly be the topic of much discussion and debate. In any case, one might hope that the Maison will continue to favor the kind of risk-taking and décalage that built its reputation.
As a collection, Haute Couture is uniquely primed for creative and techinical feats. Because pieces don’t need to be reproducable at scale, they’re often the ultimate expression of license and liberty for designers, who are able to experiment with new techniques, materials, and constructions. For many Houses, they’re more akin to works of art than garments.
With creative power and legitimacy on technical abilities in the bag - even if Axel Dumas admits that the investment in métiers d’art required to produce Haute Couture poses a challenge to the House’s vertical integration - Hermès could do exciting work here.
Finally, Hermès has a unique competitive advantage: its perception as a relatively ‘gender neutral’ brand that appeals equally to women and men. Haute Couture was once “by law” exclusively feminine. But with more men interested in Haute Couture, the expansion of menswear brands like Thom Browne into the space, and growing visibility of collections like Margiela Artisanal, that reputation is falling away.
Could Hermès be the first mainstream House of Haute Couture for men?
5/Haute Couture will elevate the rest of the Maison’s activity in the fashion space - if they can compete with the incumbents. The potential brand halo of Haute Couture hasn’t quite lost its shine, and the collection is an opportunity to raise the perceived value of the House’s ready-to-wear pieces at a time when the category is becoming a driver of growth and diversification - an essential move at a time when an over-reliance on leather goods poses a strategic risk in an oversaturated market.
Of course, they’ll have a lot of competition to get there. The Haute Couture market is currently lead in EMV by Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Schiaparelli, Dior, and Valentino. Among them, Chanel and Dior are patrimonial French Houses with unrivaled muscle behind them; JPG and and Schiaparelli are both surfing the visibility of star creative directors.
And if the Maison Hermès chooses to concentrate its positioning on savoir-faire, they’ll also face competition from collections like Chanel’s Métiers d’art - and the Maison’s extensive investments in the petites Maisons that support them. Finally, there are the (supposedly) strict criteria required to obtain the appellation of the Chambre syndicale and the systematic appearance of guest members, like Balenciaga, who cannibalize the visibility of historic Houses.
Alas, none of these seem to frighten the intrepid Hermès. “What’s sure is that it’s going to bring us trouble, but also pleasure,” quipped Axel Dumas. What better summary of the art de vivre Hermès than joy in the dogged pursuit of the sublime? That’s a great spirit to bring to Haute Couture - and a potentially powerful move for a Maison that’s never done with surprises.