The Leather Report with Nour Hammour

Stories

Dec 14

Nour Hammour and Erin Webb co-founded Nour Hammour in 2013 to create effortlessly cool leather outerwear. Their pieces may be the last item you throw on, but these designers make sure that their outerwear is not an afterthought.

*Photographer:* *Walter Pierre* *| Stylist:* *Constant De Boer* *| Assistant Stylist:* *Fleur Van der Schilt* *| Model:* *Simone Van Werkhoven* *| Hair & Makeup:* *Laura Yard*
*Jacket:* *BOMBSHELL* *in Acai $1,302*

With a chance meeting in the City of Lights, Nour Hammour and Erin Webb — co-founders of luxury leather line Nour Hammour — both reside between the innovative United States and timeless Paris. A Parisian design house, Nour Hammour has one singular focus — tailored and timeless leather outerwear to empower women through beauty and comfort. “When living in Paris, a fantastic coat or jacket is something that you wear year-round,” shares Webb. “How fun to design this one item of clothing that conveys so much about how a woman wants to feel. From the moment you put on a leather jacket — you immediately feel a little bit rebellious.”

According to the experts, a leather jacket is the absolute wardrobe staple of any city girl. “At the time we launched there weren’t any brands designing beautiful leather outerwear that were also comfortable to wear all day long,” enlightens Webb. “Jackets were restrictive and the leather was super heavy, after a few hours it was almost fatiguing to wear them. So we started with one leather jacket that women would come customize in our Parisian workshop — to ensure she had the perfect fit. We learned exactly how a woman wanted to feel when she wore a leather jacket and that helped us develop an entire collection. It happened naturally — and then suddenly we were being worn by Kendall and Gigi. That was exciting.” Taking the time to really think about each and every client when designing their styles is a key factor the design duo attributes to their success. Europeans tend to prefer neutral colors and classic silhouettes — ‘The Tench’ and ‘The Perfecto’ — while American clients are a bit riskier and are always first to try the label’s newest styles. They even have a specific sub-group called “Dallas, Dubai, and DF” for those who love a bit of color and gravitate towards the pieces that are beautifully adorned with embellishments of crystals, stones, and studs.

The cobblestone streets of Marais are where Hammour and Webb draw their Parisian inspiration. The city’s romantic architecture and darling shops make it the perfect place to don a sophisticated leather jacket for a leisurely stroll. With its showroom in Paris, Hammour and Webb derive much of their inspiration from Parisian style, but they also take notes from their time in the States. “Our designs are always tailored and elevated, which is a very Parisian aesthetic,” shares Webb, “but they are also always very comfortable as well. The functionality of the jackets is for a woman on the go, which at its design origin, was a very American concept.” Whether Hammour and Webb are designing for the doctor, the stay-at-home mother or the student, the only prerequisite is that she does not take herself too seriously and is comfortable in her own skin … and leather.

“From the moment you put on a leather jacket — you immediately feel a little bit rebellious.”

No matter who the jacket is for, the quality of the craftsmanship is unparalleled. “Leather is such a particular material to work with and also a difficult one in the production process. Because of that, the artisans we work with are literally multigenerational,” reveals the co-founder. “The art of cutting and stitching leather is literally a life-long career and is a craft that is disappearing as so many brands are transitioning to vegan leather. In addition to fostering the knowledge being passed down, we continue to work with the same workshops in Paris that we originally launched with. In order to meet demand, we helped establish an amazing female-owned workshop in Turkey that produces our shearling collections.” The end result being expertly made leather goods that withstand the test of time. Clients can rest assured knowing that their pieces are not only classics, but made to withstand hundreds of hours of wear becoming the jewel of your wardrobe.

*ROBE DE CHAMBRE* *in Lollipop-Purple $398*

The mainstay of the brand is the leather jacket — staple pieces that have universal appeal. With the ability to be dressed up or dressed down, the specific outerwear always leaves the wearer looking polished and ultramodern. As evidenced by today’s IT-girls — Gigi Hadid, Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner, Kaia Gerber, and Bella Hadid, to name a few — Nour Hammour’s signature and customizable jackets pair well with anything from denim shorts to cargo pants and racerback tees to tailored black trousers. “If you want to wear a minidress but you don’t want to look too dressed up, throwing a leather jacket over the look will immediately make you look more casual,” shares Webb. “Likewise, if you need to run to the market and you want to wear sweatpants, an oversized leather jacket is going to make the entire styling more intentional.”

Filling the uncomfortable gap, Hammour and Webb created custom jackets in their Parisian workshop to mold their jackets perfectly for their clients. In the process, Hammour and Webb found the perfect balance between structure and comfort for their signature fit and developed an entire collection after it. Today that collection has expanded to include cropped moto jackets, trench coats, cargo jackets and more. In continued love with the ‘Birthday Coat’ — “We actually designed it last year as a birthday gift to me,” smiles Hammour excitedly. “I was dreaming of a cool, but relaxed coat that I could wear every day that is cozy, but not heavy. It turned out so perfect that we put it in the next collection. Now every girl in the office owns one.” Webb’s go-to piece is ‘The Regina’ because it is the perfect marriage of functionality and tailored style. “‘The Regina’ has become the jacket that our clients are ordering for their travels. It’s oversized so you are comfortable, nipped at the waist so that you look pulled together, and the best part is that it has pockets big enough to hold passports for you and your family, cell phones and keys. You basically don’t need carry-on luggage,” laughs Webb.

Leading the outerwear leather industry for the past nine years, the design duo is most unapologetic for not taking no for an answer. “We love the French culture,” shares Webb, ‘but when we launched the brand in Paris, we were met with a lot of ‘C’est pas possible’ –- people telling us that certain ways of working with leather were not possible. Eventually they all came around and we still work with the same artisans that we started with all those years ago.” Tight lipped about the exciting projects coming down the pipeline, the leather experts welcome us all to ride their coattails and join the style ranks of the elite. As Hammour and Webb love to meet their followers and clients in person, the designers encourage you to stop by their Paris showroom anytime. But if Paris is a bit out of reach, their collections are found in over a dozen stockists around the globe and in high-end online boutiques.