Hermès’ Fall ‘21 “Triptych” Show Broke New Ground

Princess Grace Award Winner and NYCB Dancer Miriam Miller Gives Us An Inside Look.

The New York cast of dancers in “uniform.”

Aptly named “Triptych” by creative director Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski, Hermès’ twenty-five minute live-streamed show spanned three cities--New York, Paris, and Shanghai--covering an unprecedented 21,000 kilometers.

While the segment in Paris followed a more traditional model of the fashion show, Vanhee-Cybulski tapped choreographers Madeline Hollander and Gu Jiani to integrate dance into the first and third acts--New York and Shanghai, respectively.

Miller being photographed post fitting.

The artistic approaches of Hollander and Jiani are literally, and figuratively, worlds apart, yet both imbue the show at large with a tone that is resilient and even celebratory. The audience is given access to a global stage during an otherwise travel-restricted period. In New York, dancers could be seen smiling (a known rarity in the context of the fashion show) as they moved in graceful, sashaying lines of burgundy pleated silk. In Shanghai, the choreography was one of touch, with each dancer leaning into the next with a distinctively feminine fluidity.

Miller’s model look sheet.

As it happens, one of our own Princess Grace Award winners, Miriam Miller, took part in the New York show at New York’s Armory. To Miller, whose time spent in the fashion space includes “photo shoots for print, a few video campaigns, and a season at New York Fashion Week,” this was uncharted territory. As she told us, “Taking part in a global live stream Triptych, requiring ten-hour days of rehearsal, tech, fittings, and Zoom calls with Hermès in Paris, was definitely a brand new experience.”

It was also Miller’s first time working with artist-choreographer Madeline Hollander. We asked Miller about the creative direction she was given. She told us that she and her fellow dancers were all given sixteen pre-recorded video tutorials of various counts, “each count involving a change in gesture or step.”

The choreography echoed its setting, too. “Interestingly,” Miller told us, “the tempo of the music was set to the average pace of a New Yorker’s walk. Once all the phrases were memorized, Madeline began piecing them together in different combinations. Our formations then began to evolve as we moved within the space as a group. Madeline was efficient, organized, prepared, and direct, all while maintaining a relaxed and easy going environment, and despite the amount of moving parts it took to put on such a grand show!”

The preparation paid off.

The dancers rehearsed all week for the seven-and-a-half-minute “Prologue.” For Miller, it was well worth it.

A selfie moment before the show begins.

As she puts it, “Aside from finally getting to move and perform in a physical space with people, what I appreciated most about working on this project was seeing numerous creative worlds collide. It is inspiring, fulfilling, and energizing, especially after a year hiatus, to witness and be a part of the various artistic minds involved to create this seven minute piece.”

The result? Well, you can watch it for yourself.

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Credits: Images: Courtesy of and credited to Miriam Miller, and l'officielmalaysia

Video: Hermès