Grace Wales Bonner is new Hermès menswear creative chief

Grace Wales Bonner has been a rising star for some time and now she’s really hit the big time with news on Tuesday that she’s the new creative director of menswear at French luxury house Hermès. 

It will be a while before we see her full impact on Hermès though. The 35-year-old menswear specialist who launched her own label in 2014, won’t show her first collection for the ultra-luxury label until January 2027.

The UK-based designer, who has a collaboration with Adidas, will also continue with her own label.

She’s succeeding the top flight’s longest-standing creative chief with Véronique Nichanian stepping down from the brand after a tenure of 37 years.

Nichanian’s final show will be this January and the label won’t show its SS27 collection (which will be created by the studio) at the runway event in June 2026.

Pierre-Alexis Dumas, general artistic director of Hermès, said of its new menswear creative chief: “I am really pleased to welcome Grace to the Hermès artistic director family. Her take on contemporary fashion, craft and culture will contribute to shaping Hermès men’s style, melding the house’s heritage with a confident look on the now. Grace’s appetite and curiosity for artistic practice strongly resonate with Hermès’s creative mindset and approach. We are at the start of an enriching mutual dialogue.”

She in her turn said she was “honoured” and that the role is a “dream”.

As mentioned, Wales Bonner has been a rising star for some time and was tipped to eventually land at the design helm of one of the industry’s major labels.

The English-Jamaican designer was trained at Central Saint Martins and set up her namesake label as soon as she graduated, initially focusing on menswear but introducing womenswear in 2018.

Big-league awards have been coming thick and fast including the emerging menswear designer title at the British Fashion Awards (2015), the LVMH Young Designer Prize (2016) and the CFDA International Men’s Designer of the Year (2021).

She’s also dressed A-list celebrities including Lewis Hamilton and FKA Twigs.

But the Hermès job is undeniably her biggest role yet. And while running a category at any major house is always a challenge, she’s arriving at a time when ready-to-wear is on an upswing for the brand with sales rising strongly.