WWD: Hermès RTW Fall 2012

Now in his third season designing the women's ready-to-wear at Hermès, Christophe Lemaire has a penchant for elevating humble clothes into the luxury stratosphere that the brand inhabits. He opened his handsome show at the Beaux-Arts with a gang of platinum-card-holding gaucho girls, their tweed blanket shawls fringed in black leather; their pleated, ballooning pants tucked into slouchy boots that may never touch dirt. The South American accent gave an appealing swagger to the masculine tailoring that's become a recurrent theme of the European collections. Except for trim jackets in gray flannel or croc-fronted suede, Lemaire sized most things generously. The outerwear was strong, especially woolen coats and capes in bottle or officer greens — an emerging color story this season. They had the ease of blankets, demonstrating the relaxed-chic vibe of the collection. For the full review: http://bit.ly/xMW2GZ