Grace Wales Bonner Builds Hermès Menswear Team Ahead of 2027 Debut

Grace Wales Bonner, the British-Jamaican creative appointed to direct Hermès menswear in 2025, has begun putting the people around her for a debut that the fashion world is watching closely.

According to Women’s Wear Daily, her first menswear collection for Hermès is due in January 2027. The staffing moves now taking place indicate that Wales Bonner is approaching the job with care and a clear sense of responsibility.

One major addition is John-Gabriel Harrison, a seasoned designer whose background includes several years at Lanvin, where he worked through different creative leadership periods. He later became head of design at A.P.C.

Wales Bonner’s Hermès appointment was historic from the start. WWD previously reported that she became the first Black woman to take creative charge at a leading luxury fashion house. She moved into the menswear role after Véronique Nichanian, who guided Hermès menswear for 37 years, the longest such tenure by a creative director in modern fashion.

The scale of that transition has drawn attention across the industry. Through her own brand, Wales Bonner has built a distinctive language shaped by Jamaican cultural references, sharp Savile Row-influenced tailoring, and sporting ideas drawn from football strips and athletic forms. That mix has helped her attract admirers such as Lewis Hamilton, Kendrick Lamar, FKA Twigs, and Naomi Campbell.

Wales Bonner graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2014 and won the LVMH Young Designer Prize in 2016. Since then, her label has grown into an international creative force.

Speaking with WWD, she conveyed strong enthusiasm for Hermès, describing the house as rich with possibility and signalling her interest in working with its legacy in a personal way. The full result of that approach is expected to be seen in January 2027.