In fashion, departures tend to roar, fireworks of speculation, Instagram manifestos, instant critical maelstroms. But Véronique Nichanian’s decision to step down as Hermès’s Artistic Director for menswear after 37 years lands with a different kind of gravity, quiet, measured, and deeply intentional.
Her final runway for the house will take place in January during Paris Men’s Fashion Week.
In an industry built on churn and novelty, Nichanian was the exception; three decades of uninterrupted authorship at a major luxury house. Recruited in 1988, she spent her career defining what Hermès menswear could be without ever surrendering to spectacle.
She didn’t need theatrics. No viral chaos. Just excellence; cut, fibre, proportion. She shaped a modern masculine archetype that was precise, discreet, and deeply assured. She built loyalty through subtlety, not noise.
She leaves as one of the longest-serving creative directors in luxury fashion history.
In explaining her decision, she didn’t cite scandal, burnout, or creative differences. She spoke of time and the desire to redirect it. It is a rare exit in fashion: self-authored, measured, even graceful.
The timing is striking. With near-simultaneous reshuffles sweeping across Chanel, Dior, Gucci, and others, Hermès moves differently, not reactive, but paced. This is not rupture. It is succession planning with dignity.
It poses the question: who inherits a universe built on discretion, not disruption?
Hermès is not in crisis, far from it. Menswear growth remains strong. There is no creative fatigue in the product. Which is exactly what makes this exit so symbolic.
Nichanian did not leave because Hermès needed to be fixed. She left because she knew legacy is most powerful when handed over in strength, not desperation.
Her departure is a reminder that real luxury isn’t volume, it is control. Over craft, over time, over narrative.
In fashion’s noisy landscape — where exits are often reactions — this one is a gesture of authorship.
Véronique Nichanian did not burn out. She chose to bow out.
And in doing so, she may have just set the new standard for what creative leadership — and departure — should look like in the future of luxury.
