Nordstrom Fashion Blog: Herve Leger Celebrates 30 Years

Yesterday’s spring ’16 Herve Leger show marked the brand’s 30th anniversary, and as if to celebrate the legacy of Max and Lubov Azria, just about every other woman on West 33rd Street was wearing one of their signature body-con skirts or dresses.

Image by Jessica Carter

Even more striking was the celebration on the runway, in which the strong presence of perforated, embellished, creamy white silhouettes expressed the heritage of the bandage dress, while jumpsuits and handkerchief-hem dresses over pants pushed off into new directions.

As heavily bead-embellished looks with cutout details and lace-up sides took the floor, the women around us in the packed-to-the-rafters room let out loud gasps and joyful cries—particularly with the more sexy, sensual looks, and for sure when each of the bathing costumes came out. (Don’t miss the barely-there string maillot and a vaguely dangerous-looking zipper bikini with peplum sides at the end of this post.)

These are women who take great care to dial in every little bit of their look when the occasion calls for it, and yet, here were Herve Leger’s models, with makeup-free faces and lipstick-less lips. Their lovely braids were loose and purposefully coming undone. Those felt like small but important decisions; overt but subtle symbols of fresh, young, laid-back energy.

Thirty years is a long time in the fashion business. And especially in the American fashion business. But the new shapes and layers—and those light, soft touches here and there—say there’s plenty more to come.