Hermes shows slick leather ensembles on dirt runway at Paris Fashion Week

PARIS: Hermes designer Nadege Vanhee presented a fall-winter 2025 collection of glossy coats, dresses and trousers in dark-coloured leather on Saturday, showing the sleek styles on a dirt-covered runway in Paris.

Held at the Garde Republicaine, the sprawling stables of the French capital’s mounted gendarmes or police, the fashion house built a set with curved walls that resembled a Richard Serra sculpture - but were covered in brown felt.

Attendants raked the catwalk before the start of the show and the models strode out in riding boots, the toes stretched out into points, their silky hair bouncing.

They paraded skirts and micro shorts with tassels, a cropped jacket with quilted panels and long coats lined with felted wool, zippers running down the back - all of it in leather.

Extra layers came in the form of ribbed knit gloves that covered the arm and piles of sweaters worn like scarves around the neck and cinching outerwear.

Stella McCartney shows feminine power suits in office set at Paris Fashion Week

Contrasting with the mostly all-black looks were a few styles in beige, a brown marbled pattern molded into a fitted dress and a coat and trouser ensemble in bright green leather.

Paris Fashion Week, which runs through March 11, featured debut runway shows by Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford and Sarah Burton at Givenchy.

It brings together shows from some of the world’s biggest brands like Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Saint Laurent as well as Victoria Beckham and Stella McCartney.