Jean-Louis Dumas

Jean-Louis Robert Frédéric Dumas (2 February 1938 – 1 May 2010) was a French billionaire businessman who was the chairman of the Hermès group from 1978 to 2006. He was also the company's artistic director.[1] Dumas is credited with turning Hermès into a global luxury brand during his tenure as chairman.[1]

Jean-Louis Dumas
Born
Jean-Louis Robert Frédéric Dumas

(1938-02-02)2 February 1938
Paris, France
Died1 May 2010(2010-05-01) (aged 72)
Paris, France
EducationInstitut d’Études Politiques de Paris
Occupation(s)Businessman, designer
Known forHermès chairman and design chief
Board member ofHermès
Spouse
Rena Gregoriadès
​
​
(m. 1962; died 2009)​
Children2, including Pierre-Alexis
RelativesAxel Dumas (cousin)

Early life and education

Jean-Louis Robert Frédéric Dumas was born in Paris, France, on 2 February 1938. He also used the last name Dumas-Hermès. His father was Robert Dumas, and his mother was one of Émile-Maurice Hermès' four daughters. Dumas' grandfather Émile-Maurice Hermès had been a grandson of the company founder Thierry Hermès.[2] Dumas attended the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, also dubbed Sciences Po.[2] He also traveled in Iran, Afghanistan, and Nepal in a Citroën 2CV.[3] After travelling in Scandinavia and Czechoslovakia while the drummer of a jazz ensemble, Dumas was sent to Algeria to perform his compulsory military service.[2]

Career

In 1963, Dumas entered Bloomingdale's buyer-trainer program in New York.[2] In 1964, he joined Hermès,[2] which his family had founded in 1837.[1] Dumas later became CEO of the Hermès Group[2] and served as the company's artistic director.[1] His father died in 1978, and Dumas became chairman.[2] Expanding into the United States and Asia,[2] he turned Hermès into a global brand after taking in the chairmanship, adding interests in fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier and the Leica camera maker to the company.[1]

In the 1980s Gaultier was working on fashion design in Paris, with Belgian designer Martin Margiela working as his design assistant from 1984 to 1987.[4] He took the company public in 1993, with around 3/4 of the company remaining family-owned.[2] Jean Louis-Dumas retired as the chairman and artistic director of Hermès in January 2006 due to declining health.[1] He was replaced in the position by his son Pierre-Alexis Dumas.

Family and death

His wife Rena Dumas (née Gregoriadès) (1937–2009) was a Greek-born architect who founded Rena Dumas Architecture Intérieure in 1972 in Paris.[5][6] They married in 1962.[2] Pierre-Alexis Dumas is their son,[2] while their daughter Sandrine is a film actress.[2]

Jean-Louis Dumas died in Paris on 1 May 2010, at the age of 72.[1] He took photographs throughout his life, and in 2008, Steidl published Jean-Louis Dumas: Photographer, a collection of his photographs.[2]

References
  1. "Longtime Hermes luxury group boss dies". Agence France Presse. The Independent. 2 May 2010. Archived from the original on 6 May 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  2. William Grimes, "Jean-Louis Dumas, Chief of Hermès, Dies at 72, The New York Times, 3 May 2010
  3. Horwell, Veronica (10 May 2010), "Jean-Louis Dumas obituary", The Guardian
  4. Leaper, Caroline (15 October 2012), "Martin Margiela", Vogue, retrieved 25 September 2015
  5. "Dumas, Rena" in Mel Byars, The Design Encyclopedia, New York City: The Museum of Modern Art, 2004
  6. Suzy Menkes, "Rena Dumas:Interior Design with a Soft Touch of Simplicity: from Greece, a Heritage of Light, The New York Times, 12 September 2000

Further reading
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