History boy

He has a well-trained eye and a passion for prints - ideal traits when you're an artistic director for a major luxury fashion house. Daniel Jeffreys speaks to Pierre-Alexis Dumas, who likes to look to the past when shaping the future at Hermes.

What does it take to be the artistic director of a luxury brand? How about DNA teeming with six generations of experience, archives bursting with iconic designs, input from Jean-Paul Gaultier plus the services of a dozen or more fine artists? At Hermes, artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas would call that a good start. 'We are never satisfied,' says Dumas of the 14 lines of clothing, bags and accessories that he oversees, all of which he regards as a separate brand. 'Managing the creative process for all [our lines] is quite a challenge. I can't say I'm proud of everything I have done at Hermes and sometimes I feel we rushed it, but that's the age we live in.'

Thus spoke a perfectionist, long equestrian legs stretched out, sheathed in immaculate tailoring, a silk tie set just so and eyes gleaming despite having just stepped off a plane from Paris. But then Hong Kong gets Dumas' juices flowing. The city is where he learned to be a retailer, husband and father.

'I was never told I would work at Hermes,' he says. 'In fact I didn't want to work at Hermes and one day I changed my mind and joined the business.'

He was not treated as a prodigal son. In fact his father laughed at the idea, deriding Dumas for his lack of retail experience, the young aesthete having spent his student days studying art history. Papa D sent his aspirant magasiniste off to Hong Kong to learn the tricks of the trade and he was back here recently to unveil a limited-edition Les Tigreaux print scarf designed for the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation.

'Hong Kong is where I learned about the obstacles that a product faces when it reaches the sales floor,' he says. 'I love Hong Kong, especially the incredible energy in this city to experiment, be adventurous and make things happen, not just talk about them. And I met my wife here and my children were born here.'