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Obituaries

Jean-Louis Dumas | Ran Hermes company, 72

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Jean-Louis Dumas, 72, who ran Hermes for almost three decades and was hailed as an emblem of French luxury, died Saturday after a long illness. He was credited with transforming Hermes from a mainly leather-goods business to a luxury brand famous for its high-end scarves and leather bags.

The great-great-grandson of Thierry Hermes, who founded the company in 1837, Mr. Dumas ran Hermes from 1978 to 2006. French President Nicolas Sarkozy led the homage to Mr. Dumas, saying that "his death is a great loss for France." Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand called Mr. Dumas "an emblem of luxury a la francaise" and a man of "inexhaustible and visionary imagination" who attracted artists such as fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, who reinvented the Hermes women's ready-to-wear collection.

Mr. Dumas began his career as assistant buyer at Bloomingdale's in New York, before joining his family's company in 1964. The family still owns 74 percent of the Hermes group.

- AP

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