Now in her third year at the helm of Hervé Léger, Michelle Ochs is on a mission to bring the brand into the modern age. It’s a tall order: how does one modernize something as singular as the bandage dress, something so associated with the aughts, while still propelling the brand forward? “I want to say, ‘Not your mother’s Hervé,’” she said. “But still the bandage dress.”
This season, Ochs is experimenting with house codes, pushing the limits of how far the bandage will go. Take, for instance, her interpretation of a black midi dress. The bias-cut satin and draped cowl neck is a far cry from the bodycon bandage dresses that Kim Kardashian wore to the clubs, but a band of fabric across the collarbone connecting the spaghetti straps stands in for the signature bandage. An even more extreme departure: a drapey, asymmetrical bubblegum pink dress, whose fitted, ruched waistline mimics the bandage motif. “What I love playing on with this collection [is] the ability now to give her some movement and to have people think of us for more than just that,” Ochs said. “You’re going to get the sensibility and aesthetic of Hervé, [but] everything doesn’t have to be bandage.”
Even with these experimentations, the awooga sex appeal of the naughties is at the forefront of the collection: a red-hot halter, a white minidress with a cleavage-baring mesh insert, and a teal maxi with perforated seams fulfill the bandage dress brief. Still, there are more faithful interpretations that manage to step outside of the classic, waist-snatching, boob-lifting Hervé Léger paradigm. Lace is a common motif in the pre-fall lineup, with Ochs presenting it in horizontal layers like a bandage dress. “This was a technique that we found in the archives, something that we really loved,” she said.
While Hervé Léger has cornered its market, Ochs’s slow-but-steady expansion begs the question: how does a brand known for one thing break out of its confines? “Quality is king…” she said, before correcting herself, “…queen.” “The look can be duplicated, but it can’t be replicated. An Hervé Léger, you know when you have it on.”