Christophe Lemaire

>> Helmut Lang seems pretty set about not coming back to fashion — he recently shredded the remains of his archives for an art exhibition — but that doesn't mean he isn't still being pursued. Apparently, after Jean Paul Gaultier decided to leave Hermes in May 2010, Lang was the firm favorite to replace Gaultier as Hermes creative director, W reports. But: When Hermes courted Lang, he refused — he wanted to continue his newfound career as an artist instead of returning to fashion — and the job instead went to Christophe Lemaire.

While Hermes womenswear contributes less than 10 percent of the brand's annual turnover, it does have a symbolic significance in the media and how the brand is viewed. And speaking of views, another Hermes family member has spoken out about Bernard Arnault and the threat of an LVMH takeover. Pierre-Alexis Dumas, the company's group artistic director, tells W: “Hermes has grown out of a family culture with a set of values that we all believe in. I am convinced it would disappear if the family dimension was taken away or diluted. You know, there have been a lot of very good, small restaurants in Paris that have been bought by big chains over the years, usually in the name of better management. But somehow their clients have stopped going, because they have lost their souls ... This whole situation has been an incentive to work even harder. I have told everybody, ‘Listen, guys — it’s time to be more Hermes than ever.’”

>> Christophe Lemaire, who shows his first Hermes collection in March, says that instead of channeling former Hermes designer Jean Paul Gaultier's runway extravaganzas, he expects to display his collections in a more intimate setting.

The decision reflects his vision for the brand as a whole, he tells WWD: “I think that it’s time to go back to a more honest vision of fashion, and that there is room for a simpler, more pared-down wardrobe that is better suited to everyday life. I have always campaigned to bring quality and, if possible, poetry to everyday life. You don’t change your wardrobe every six months. You build it up over time.”

He added that he is imaging his Hermes to be more in line with Martin Margiela's — who designed for Hermes between 1998 and 2003 — rather than Gaultier's: “I think I will be walking in the footsteps of Margiela more than Gaultier, even if I have a lot of respect for Jean Paul Gaultier and his virtuosity."

Lemaire, who left his position as Lacoste creative director to join Hermes, alluded to tensions with his previous management: “It’s as if the moment had finally arrived for me to show what I’m capable of. For various reasons, I have always lacked either the maturity or the means to develop my own brand, and at Lacoste, I was working under constraints that meant that, even though I think I did a good job, I was never able to unleash my full potential. So I hope to be able to do that at Hermès.” He continued: “I think I succeeded in projecting a certain vision of the brand [at Lacoste]. The problem with a brand is that if the designer has a vision and the management does not have the same vision, or does not understand that vision, then there is obviously a disconnect. So I think that is being addressed, but it was definitely an issue for me.”

>> Christophe Lemaire Hints That His Hermes Collections Won't Make Women Look Like "Luxury Prostitutes" —Christophe Lemaire has yet to debut a collection for Hermes — and it won't come until the Fall 2011 season — but he has offered a hint in the direction he'll be going: he loves "real quality, timelessness, simplicity, and classicism . . . Until very recently, high-fashion women were like luxury prostitutes. Now there is a need for a more authentic and dignified style . . . I think being transgressive today is being classical. To pretend to dress as a punk and take cocaine and have sex orgies has just become common now — there's nothing transgressive about that. The fashion pages, like Purple magazine, are just a joke." [The Cut]

>> Late last week, Lacoste confirmed that creative director Christophe Lemaire, who was recently named as Jean Paul Gaultier's replacement at Hermes, will be leaving the brand after his last Lacoste collection — for Spring 2011 — is shown in September.

There has been speculation in the French press that Catherine Malandrino might replace Lemaire, but a representative for Lacoste says otherwise: “Catherine is not going to be the new designer at Lacoste. We are currently undergoing the search for a new designer, but don’t expect to announce a new designer until the end of the year."

What kind of candidate is Lacoste looking for? »

Christophe Lemaire, the man behind the commercial resurgence of Lacoste, is headed to Hermes. It was announced today that Lemarie will be replacing Jean-Paul Gaultier, who has been at Hermes for seven years and is reportedly leaving to focus on his namesake lines. Gaultier will stay on at Hermes until the Spring 2011 runway show in Paris this October, and Hermes will continue to own a 45% stake in Gaultier's fashion house.

News of Gaultier's departure comes two weeks after the death of Jean-Louis Dumas, former president and chief executive of Hermes, who hired Gaultier in 2003 to jump-start the the company's ready-to-wear business. “Hermes is deeply grateful to Jean-Paul Gaultier for his outstanding creative contribution,” the company said today in a statement.

Christophe Lemaire, who will show his first Hermes collection for the Fall 2011 season, launched his own brand in 1991 and has worked in the houses of Christian Lacroix, Jean Patou, Yves Saint Laurent, and Thierry Mugler.

Source: Getty