Grace Wales Bonner’s Historic Rise to Hermès

Among designer debuts at Dior, Chanel, Gucci, Versace, and more, Louise Trotter’s Bottega Veneta runway debut made her the only female director debuting on the highly anticipated SS26 runways — but Trotter won’t be alone for long. Grace Wales Bonner has been named as the new director of Hermès menswear, replacing Véronique Nichanian, who will step down from her 37-year tenure in 2026.

As if the season’s unprecedented roster of creative director appointments wasn’t enough to shake up the fashion world, the news of Grace Wales Bonner’s role at Hermès is a seismic shift from one of luxury’s most exclusive brands. In addition to being the first Black, female designer at the helm of the almost 200-year-old label, her new role makes her the first-ever Black woman to lead design at a major fashion house in history.

Though the independent British designer’s appointment came as a surprise—announced just days after Nichanian’s parting—her strong and steady rise has clearly primed her for a top seat in a heavyweight maison. Interestingly, the designer had quietly expressed her desire to work with Hermès years ago. “A dream of mine would be to work with a tailoring brand, as that is at the core of what I am doing,” she told System in 2019, naming “Hermès or even a Savile Row tailoring house.”

While it’s tempting to say that Wales Bonner “manifested” the position when she spoke it into existence six years ago, such a statement would discount the impressive legacy the designer has built for herself. Since graduating from London’s Central Saint Martins in 2014 and launching her eponymous label ten years ago, the designer has amassed numerous accolades for her work.

Only a year into establishing Wales Bonner, the designer won the Emerging Menswear Designer at the British Fashion Awards in 2015, and subsequently became the first menswear designer to win the LVMH Young Designer Prize in 2016. By 2019, the designer became a recipient of the British Fashion Council/ Vogue Designer Fashion Fund.

Her visibility exploded with the brand’s first partnership with adidas Originals in 2020—an ongoing collaboration that has since globalized the designer’s name. The Wales Bonner x adidas Sambas first appeared on the runway in January of that year, playing a pivotal role in reinjecting the classic silhouette with contemporary appeal. By 2024 (and many Wales Bonner x adidas Sambas later), the shoe had effectively returned to the zeitgeist in full force.

In the 2020s, Wales Bonner continued to be recognized at the fashion industry’s most prestigious ceremonies, having bagged the CFDA’s International Men’s Designer of the Year in 2021. The following year, she received the Independent British Brand of the Year at the BFC’s Fashion Awards and was named an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for her services to fashion.

The designer’s cross-cultural lens and research-based approach have made her a respected voice in the arts well beyond the fashion industry. In 2023, it was announced that she would curate a 40-piece exhibition at New York’s MoMA, highlighting the African diaspora through art. Following the MoMA exhibition’s close in April 2024, The Metropolitan Museum of Art tapped the designer to join the host committee of the 2025 Met Gala, centered on the “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” costume exhibition.

The news of Wales Bonner’s role at Hermès arrived at a timely juncture: 2025 had already been a major year for the designer, not only for her role at the Met Gala, but also for her brand’s 10th anniversary. As the year draws to a close, her entrance into the space of luxury maisons is the crown jewel of her decade-long journey.

Given her predecessor’s nearly four-decade tenure and Hermès’ notably conservative pace of evolution, Wales Bonner’s appointment is a pivotal, and rather bold, moment for the brand. In comparison to maisons like Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, and Loewe—which traded unwavering heritage for creative disruption long ago—the 188-year-old house has been slow to embrace transformation.

Hermès is famously protective of its DNA, targeting unlicensed products like the 2023 NFT “MetaBirkin” and even winning lawsuits over claims that it restricts access to its iconic Birkin bag—forcing customers to spend thousands on other products to qualify for a purchase. Many have criticized this level of orchestrated exclusivity as outdated and hostile to new customers. Could Wales Bonner’s diverse, outsider perspective finally shift the tone?

What the designer and Hermès share in common is their meticulous attention to craft and personal history. She has not only solidified her expertise in traditional tailoring but also in innovation, updating European aesthetics with her international ethos. Her collaborations with major arts institutions and archival projects have translated cultural heritage into impactful contemporary design — an important skill for any designer taking charge at such a storied house.

Showing in January 2027, Grace Wales Bonner’s menswear debut for Hermès is already slated to be a landmark event in fashion history. As the first Black woman to take the helm at a major fashion house, the Jamaican-British designer is breaking down barriers in a league historically dominated by white male creative directors. In a powerful challenge to luxury’s traditional exclusivity, the designer’s appointment could very well be Hermès’ saving grace.

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