Days ago, French luxury house Hermès announced British-Jamaican designer Grace Wales Bonner as its new Creative Director of Menswear, marking a defining moment in fashion history. The 34-year-old is now the first Black woman to lead the storied French house’s men’s division, a nod to her extraordinary talent and a sign of how far fashion has come in recognising voices that once existed on its margins.
Born in south London to an English mother and a Jamaican father, Wales Bonner has built her career on bridging worlds — academic and artistic, European and African, masculine and feminine. Her work, acclaimed for its intellectual depth and emotional subtlety, reflects a lifelong fascination with how identity is expressed through dress.
“I’m deeply honoured,” she said in an Instagram post following the Hermès announcement. “It is a dream realized to embark on this new chapter, following in a lineage of inspired craftspeople and designers.”
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Rooted in Heritage
Wales Bonner has often said that her dual identity is at the heart of her work. Growing up between Dulwich and Stockwell in south London, she was surrounded by two worlds: her mother’s English heritage and her father’s Jamaican traditions.
That duality forms the foundation of her signature style. In interviews, she has spoken about feeling “between two things” and using that space as a creative lens. Her collections reflect this duality, often pairing precise British tailoring with references to the African and Caribbean diaspora — exploring how identity can be fluid, multifaceted, and proudly hybrid.
A Caribbean Eye for Craft
In her first collaboration with Adidas, Wales Bonner reimagined the classic tracksuit through the lens of her Jamaican heritage. The campaign featured models in tracksuits on the beach, evoking an island essence, but one campaign video in particular — showing a model playing football — evoked the iconic image of Bob Marley, serving as a subtle homage to the legendary Jamaican musician.
In a 2023 Wales Bonner made local headlines as the designer behind the Jamaican national football kit, a collaboration with Adidas and the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF). The design featured a clean, modern aesthetic infused with vibrant elements that captured Jamaica’s unique and colourful identity and reflects her ongoing dialogue between heritage and modernity.
It’s this ability to connect histories that makes Wales Bonner’s work so definitive, and necessary. She doesn’t just design clothes; she designs conversations about where we come from and how culture travels.
Breaking Barriers and Making History
Since launching her label in 2014 after graduating from Central Saint Martins, Wales Bonner has become one of the most celebrated designers of her generation. In 2016 she won the LVMH Young Designer Prize, the British Fashion Award for Emerging Menswear Designer, and has collaborated with major brands such as Dior.
Her elevation to Hermès is the culmination of a decade of groundbreaking work. As she steps into this prestigious role — overseeing a division once led by Véronique Nichanian for nearly four decades — she carries with her a unique, versatile, and culturally rich vision.
In the official announcement, Pierre-Alexis Dumas, Hermès’s General Artistic Director, said her “take on contemporary fashion, craft and culture will contribute to shaping Hermès men’s style, melding the house’s heritage with a confident look on the now.” And that’s precisely what makes this appointment so meaningful — a Jamaican-descended designer at the helm of one of the world’s most revered fashion houses, bringing a fresh perspective rooted in culture and history.
A New Generation of Jamaican Influence
Wales Bonner joins a growing list of Jamaicans in fashion and the wider creative industries whose talent continues to shape global culture — from Rachel Scott and Martine Rose to Grace Jones, Marlon James, and Sheryl Lee Ralph.
For many, her story embodies the best of what it means to be Jamaican: proud, ambitious, and endlessly creative. Through her thoughtful designs and deep respect for heritage, Grace Wales Bonner is proving that fashion can be more than just clothes, it can be a bridge between worlds.
