Grace Wales Bonner is Hermès' New Creative Director
& why you should care.
Last week Grace Wales Bonner was announced as the new creative director of Hermès menswear, becoming the first Black woman to lead a major fashion house.
I was first introduced to Grace through her collaboration with Adidas. I loved her take on the samba, and although I never got my hands on a pair due to the insane resale price, the collaboration lead me to explore her work further. What captivated me was her ability to foreground references to historical moments and cultural symbolism in her designs. She truly is a cultural connector - crafting garments rooted in European tailoring traditions while simultaneously rich with Afro-Atlantic symbolism.
What is a Creative Director?
This year we have seen an influx of changes of the creative directors at major fashion houses - Jonathan Anderson at Dior, Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, Demna at Gucci, and now Grace Wales Bonner at Hermès.
In fashion, the creative director is the one behind the vision and aesthetic of the brand. They oversee all the high level creative decisions usually staying true to the brands DNA but obviously bringing a unique personal twist.
And, as Amy Odell describes, “in the saturated landscape, there’s desire for a more frequent reinvention.”1 A change in the creative direction often results in a reinvention of the brand.
Who is Grace Wales Bonner?
Grace graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2014. Only a year later, she was awarded the Emerging Menswear Designer at the British Fashion Awards.
Grace debuted her menswear collection titled “Ezekiel” SS 2017. The collection was inspired by the 1930 crowning of the late Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie. Throughout the collection the garments showcased a blend of European tailoring with African and Caribbean influences. An ode to her own cultural heritage with having grown up in South East London with an English mother and a Jamaican father.
Another show was the Fall 2024 “Dream Study” collection inspired by her experience researching at Howard University where she “felt the presence of an impressive intellectual lineage”.2 Grace took inspiration from the yearbooks of the 1990s, particularly drawn to the hip-hop performances at homecoming.3
In this way, two worlds combine: athletic silhouettes seen in the varsity jackets and baseball jerseys balanced by the academic wardrobe of cashmere knits and collegiate tailoring.
Grace has always been interested in history, identity and representation and at the core of every collection is research.
She foregrounds history and her own cultural identity with her British-Jamaican heritage in her designs. With thoughtful representations of black masculinity, sexuality and history she explores the African diaspora. As a history student myself, I love the highly considered designs that take western tradition and superimpose the style and richness of African cultural heritage.
I also find her approach to the intersection of both cultures through the intersection of fashion and music fascinating. She works with Black artists to score her shows and her work always reflects musical references.
“I see clothing as my most direct mode of communication,” she says.4 You can see this most explicitly in the 2025’s MET Costume Institute exhibition, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. Wales Bonner dressed Lewis Hamilton and Omar Apollo, among many others.
Lewis Hamilton’s look was inspired by paintings and photographs of Barkley L. Hendricks and elements of Black spiritual dressings with a regal flair from the ivory tuxedo.
FKA Twigs’ look was inspired by Josephine Baker, a French dancer and most notably the first African American woman to star in a motion picture.
Her signature style is very clear - one that masterfully blends European tailoring with Afro-Atlantic elegance.
History of Hermès
After 37 years, Véronique Nichanian will step down having directed the house’s menswear from 1988 to 2025. Nichanian leaves Wales Bonner in an excellent position to excel.
“Hermès’s financial performance has continued to defy the ongoing luxury slowdown. The company posted 8 per cent growth in the first half of 2025.”5
Heritage, tradition, and tailoring are at her core, so Hermès, renowned for precision tailoring, seems like the perfect fit. In fact, working with the house has been a long dream of hers.
In an interview with System Magazines, she reflected on her desire to work at house with deep heritage in order to disrupt the elements of classicism within.6 “I want to bring an Afro-Atlantic perspective to European luxury,” she says.7
On designing menswear, Wales Bonner contemplated the opportunities within an established world and shared that to “create something new is almost unexpected”.
With that said, I simply cannot wait for the debut in January 2027.
Must watch video by Fashion Roadman on Grace Wales Bonner:
Andjelic, Ana. “What’s a Creative Director for, Anyway? | Ssense.” SSENSE, www.ssense.com/en-au/editorial/fashion/creative-directors-fashion. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Wales Bonner, Grace. “Howard Universal.” Wales Bonner, walesbonner.com/pages/howard-universal. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Wales Bonner, Grace. “Dream Study.” Wales Bonner, walesbonner.com/pages/dream-study. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Hine, Samuel. “Grace Wales Bonner’s Vision of Black Elegance Is Changing Fashion.” British GQ, British GQ, 11 Apr. 2023, www.gq-magazine.co.uk/fashion/article/grace-wales-bonner-interview-2023.
Guilbault, Laure. “Hermès’s Véronique Nichanian to Step down after 37 Years.” Vogue, Vogue, 16 Oct. 2025, www.vogue.com/article/hermess-veronique-nichanian-to-step-down-after-37-years.
Ulrich Obrist, Hans. “Momentum. Grace Wales Bonner. - Issue 13.” System Magazine, 30 June 2025, system-magazine.com/issues/issue-13/its-history-place-and-identity-transformed-into-clothing-grace-wales-bonner.
Hine, Samuel. “Grace Wales Bonner’s Vision of Black Elegance Is Changing Fashion.” British GQ, British GQ, 11 Apr. 2023, www.gq-magazine.co.uk/fashion/article/grace-wales-bonner-interview-2023.