How to reserve your seat at a Hermès show? Apparently a Birkin bag. Even before I got to the second installment of Hermès' fall-winter women's ready-to-wear show in Bel-Air (the house's first women's show in Los Angeles), photographer Tyler Matthew Oyer was texting me photos of women at check-in with their Birkins in one hand and his phone and ID in the other. “They are everywhere.” I took a photo of my yellow raffia bag, with the handle tied with an Hermès horse scarf that belonged to my maternal grandmother.
Arriving at the destination was like ascending to a parallel universe of the Getty, similar to an excursion: only instead of cable cars, we met in black vans with tinted windows that climbed the mountains in front of the museum. After 20 minutes of winding roads, we arrived at the big reveal: a butter-yellow pavilion, luscious and whimsical like a giant cake on stilts, covered in all-caps neon signs, SILHOUETTES ON THE HORIZON. The structure, designed by Maybe Paris with Hermès creative director Nadège Vanhee, was built from scratch and took three weeks to build.
“I smell like leather. Do you smell leather?” Keyla Marquez, our fashion director at large, asked, turning to me from inside the buttery dome, glass of champagne in hand. Hermès leather goods were on display, including Keyla, who wore a vintage black skirt with zippers up the front and back and a suede blouse.
The show started unusually on time, just moments after 7:30 pm, in the middle of twilight. But from where we sat, it was as if we were inside a sun rising at night, and the suspended bands of light illuminated and intensified our yellow abode.
The runway meandered like the highways of Bel-Air, the models walked with S's and the clothes followed suit, dresses, '80s flares and silks that expanded and trailed behind them in a way reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn in “Funny Face” winding down the stairs of the Louvre in Givenchy (“Take the photo! Take the photo!”). The show notes pointed to “the dancer's costume” as inspiration, and covered how fabric can have a mind of its own: gathering, draping, cascading. “Don't smooth out the wrinkles,” said a voice over the music. Every wrinkle is “a powerful current.” A double meaning to accept age? I liked to think so, especially when the soundtrack at the end played, “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes, a tribute to the Old Hollywood actress and her eternal, mocking gaze.
I caught up with Keyla Márquez after the show to get her take on the night.
The first guest that caught your attention and why.
Brenda Hashtag. I'm a fan. I feel like she belongs to a new generation of influencers and has a lot to say. She's really vulnerable with the things she says about being in the fashion world. She did an interview with Cutting Room Floor about fashion shows and how people don't greet each other, and there's nothing wrong with greeting each other. She is part of a new generation that has more vulnerability. For me, it's not so much celebrities but these people who are changing the landscape of the fashion industry and she is one of them. Although she said she doesn't like Los Angeles. [laughs].
Three words that describe the night for you.
Magical, opulent and VIC.
Did you have a favorite look?
Yes. The body piece with the flared legs. I feel like all these designers who grew up in the '80s are bringing back the '80s in a really stylish way. YSL did this collection a couple of seasons ago with fringe socks. That outfit was very reminiscent of that. There's a new play about the '80s, but not in a cheesy way. It is very elegant and luxurious.
Monochrome dominated the runway. Are you on team red (“rouge tango”), blue-green (“vert impérial”), yellow (“jaune flave”) or black?
Black and yellow. I wish blue was not included. I see the 80s inspiration, but I wish blue wasn't part of the color palette.
The best thing you ate after the show.
Those egg and roe things were delicious. What was in it?! The truffle toast was a bomb. And of course, champagne.
Your opinion on the Birkin bag.
The more worn, the better.
What you say to the L.A. haters who flew in just a few days for the show.
Get to know the culture. Meet real people. Go to the east side. When all you see are the influencers and Erewhon, that's not the real Los Angeles. You have to go where the culture lives.
Monique McWilliams and Lauren Halsey.
Ashley Villa and Vannga Nguyen.
Chloe Fineman and Miranda July.
Nadège Vanhee, creative director of Hermès.
