On June 4 in Los Angeles, as the sun descended over the Bel Air hills, the city paused in a wash of amber light. There, suspended between landscape and imagination, Hermès unveiled the second chapter of its Women’s Fall-Winter 2026 collection. Conceived by Artistic Director Nadège Vanhée, the presentation transformed a pavilion overlooking the city into a shimmering stage, bathed in a tender yellow neon that mingled with the final glow of the day. The horizon softened. Reality and fiction drifted toward one another. A collection devoted to movement emerged.
Photo by Vincent Tullo, courtesy of Hermès.
This season, Vanhée turned her attention to the profound kinship between dance and craftsmanship. Both disciplines are built through repetition, patience, and a devotion to gesture. A dancer perfects a phrase of movement much as an artisan refines a technique through years of practice. Within that shared rhythm, Hermès found a new narrative, one where the body, the hand, and the garment speak a common language.
Photo by Vincent Tullo, courtesy of Hermès.
At the heart of the collection stood the dress. Embracing the house’s celebrated savoir-faire beyond leather and silk, Vanhée explored the expressive possibilities of flou, placing femininity at the center of the conversation. The silhouettes felt both archetypal and contemporary, grounded in form while alive with motion.
The Dancer’s Wardrobe Reimagined
Photo by Justin Leveritt, courtesy of Hermès.
Throughout the collection, references to dance appeared as pure instinct.The ballet slipper became a point of departure for a series of satin dresses rendered in jewel-like shades of rouge tango, vert impérial, and jaune flave. Fine piping cascaded across the contours of the figure with remarkable precision, while grosgrain ribbons tied and untied across garments, introducing an element of spontaneity and evolution. Gathered bustiers spoke to the eased shape of a pointe shoe, translating a familiar object into a study of line and construction.
Elsewhere, cache-cœur knits wrapped the body with peaceful assurance. Incorporated directly into dresses, they provided both coziness and framing, balancing luxury with architectural intent. Jumpsuits crafted in smocked knit amplified the dialogue with dancewear, their flared legs and sparkling embroidery elevating the language of rehearsal attire into something radiant and refined.
A Ride Toward the Pacific
Photo by Filippo Fior, courtesy of Hermès.
Photo by Filippo Fior, courtesy of Hermès.
Then came a shift in tempo. The disciplined atmosphere of the studio opened onto the freedom of the street. Vanhée imagined dancers overflowing into the city, carrying their energy beyond the rehearsal room. Silk velvet foulard dresses moved with liquid ease, catching light with every step. Their sensuality found balance in biker jackets and shiny leather coats, pieces that introduced momentum and purpose for the Hermès heroine.
The Scarf Becomes Sculpture
Photo by Filippo Fior, courtesy of Hermès.
Photo by Filippo Fior, courtesy of Hermès.
Among the collection’s most compelling transformations was the reinterpretation of one of Hermès’ enduring icons: the Soleil de Soie TATTOO carré. Here, the silk scarf stepped beyond its familiar dimensions and entered the realm of volume. Skillfully smocked, gathered, and draped, the motif appeared as though rising from its center and set boundlessly free. Behold the house’s ability to continually reinvent its own heritage while preserving the spirit of the original object.
Under a Star-Strewn Sky
Photo by Filippo Fior, courtesy of Hermès.
Photo by Filippo Fior, courtesy of Hermès.
As evening settled over Los Angeles, the collection moved into its final act. Draped gowns embroidered with beaming detail emerged against onyx satin and romantic velvet, their surfaces reflecting light like constellations scattered across an endless universe. The atmosphere grew cinematic. Figures appeared floating within the ethereal show, gathered together in a theatrical dreamscape that felt both intimate and monumental.
Yet the collection resisted any sense of conclusion. Vanhée proposed movement as an ongoing process, one defined by repetition, refinement, and evolution. There was no set destination, only the continuing pursuit of expression through craft, through gesture, and through the ever-changing relationship between body and garment.
Photo by Filippo Fior, courtesy of Hermès.
Photo by Filippo Fior, courtesy of Hermès.
Photo by Vincent Tullo, courtesy of Hermès.
