Hermès Womenswear S/S12

Christopher Lemaire's own line and design sensibility is just beginning to be established at Hermes as he showed his second collection for the French house.  Surprisingly there were very few bags or accessories on show on the catwalk as Lemaire's travelling nomads wafted about in clear serenity, beginning with relaxed white ensembles, recalling Tilda Swinton in the film in Orlando where he/she finds inner peace in Constantinople.  Actually the destination of travel is not clear - North Africa, China, Native America, Eastern Europe… it's a luxurious roundtrip that doesn't involve many bags.  Instead minimal rounded cross-shoulder bags, leather phone/camera cases and a drinks flask around the neck accented the clothes. 

Where shape and proportion was Lemaire's main concern, one bit of print did make it into the collection to support the house's claim to fame with their silk scarves and it was an abstracted illustration of cartoonish African masked figures, the one bit of whimsy that crept in.  The emphasis was also on fabrics which Lemaire is renowned for and the taxability of beautiful suedes, linens, leathers and silks made for a sumptuous offering for the Hermes customer that favours discretion over ostentation, mirroring the aesthetics of the label's famed bags.