In 1997, Martin Margiela was appointed to oversee Hermes women’s ready to wear and remained responsible for it through 2003, when he was succeeded by Jean Paul Gaultier. Kinda a full circle moment for Margiela as he was once JPG's assistant. A year after his appointment, Margiela presented his first show, marking the beginning of a now legendary 12 collection run. The appointment initially seemed bizarre: an anonymous Belgian associated with deconstruction, exposed seams and recycled objects was joining one of France’s most conservative luxury houses. Jean-Louis Dumas apparently asked him whether he intended to cut the Kelly in half.

Margiela later told Vogue by fax that Hermes and his own world were not really opposites but possessed a "shared point of view." He recognized that the two houses shared a common interest in construction, material, usefulness and objects that improve through wear. His answer also attacked the fashion industry’s habit of merchandising designers’ personalities instead of just examining their clothes. 

While paying tribute to the rich equestrian lineage, Margiela built a gradually evolving wardrobe for real, natural and mature women. Comfort, exceptional materials and permanence replaced the yearly seasonal novelty that we are familiar with today. Beginning with Autumn Winter 98, he introduced a roster of foundational garments such as the vareuse, long coats, sharp trousers, short-sleeved and sleeveless knits, elongated skirts, modular outerwear, simple leather accessories, flat shoes, sneakers and boots. Instead of wiping the slate clean every six months, Margiela took each subsequent season to refine these silhouettes (and critics at that time thought he was lazy and lacked ideas).

As with his own label, deconstruction remained central to Margiela’s work at Hermes, although it adopted a different form. It existed through modular and reversible garments with detachable components and concealed openings, allowing the pieces to be worn in several ways.

Beyond RTW, Margiela also left several lasting contributions at Hermes. He created the double-tour leather strap for Henri d’Origny’s Cape Cod watch, developed a six-hole button that could be threaded to form a subtle H, introduced his stripped-back monochrome losange scarf, revived a 1970s 'Hermes Paris' clothing label that he had discovered inside an old leather glove and of course, created the Sac Initiale that we all know and WANT.

For Autumn Winter 2000, Margiela went back to the camel peacoat and gave it a removable collar and leather closures. In the same collection, reversible outerwears were designed to be rolled up and carried on a strap when not in use. These pieces were paired with his recurring wardrobe staples and knee-high riding boots. Seen in look 6 and beyond, these knee high riding boots are crafted from supple, top of the line calfskin in a rich shade of cognac and features a tall, unadorned shaft and a low stacked heel.

In pristine condition, comes with sole protector and tagged a rare size EU41