Hermès’ ”Petit H” appoints new designer replacing Hermès family member

Senior Hermès family figure Pascale Mussard has left Petit h, the Hermès offspring she created eight years ago that makes objects with crocodile leather and other high-end scraps.

Hermès has replaced her with Godefroy de Virieu, a young designer, who has worked with her for many years. The news was announced internally but not to the media yet. Mussard had to leave because Hermès imposed conditions on her that made it impossible for her to stay, one source close to the company has said. Mussard, 60, left Hermès on Jan. 22 and picked up her things from her office this week.  Hermès did not respond to requests for comment.

Mussard’s forced exit is the first crack in Hermès family unity and company fortress which had been formed to counter an attempt by luxury king Bernard Arnault, LVMH Chairman, to take over the company. The long-running battle between Arnault’s LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, and Hermès, dubbed the “handbag war,” had prompted Hermès family members to regroup and place their stake in a holding that controls Hermès. Mussard is a significant Hermès shareholder.

Petit h is widely regarded as Hermès’ laboratory of ideas. Its items such as leather bracelets, miniature planes and boats are sold at Hermes’ store on rue de Sèvres in Paris, and twice a year for short periods of time in new cities which in the past have included Tokyo, Shanghai, Rome, Geneva and New York. Many objects created by Petit h have already been adopted by what Mussard calls “Grand H,” or “Big H” – parent Hermès.

Mussard, one of Hermès’ most creative minds, is also a spiritual child of late Jean-Louis Dumas, the man who turned Hermès into a global brand and crafted its long-term strategy.

Having worked in several Hermès departments including fabric purchases and communications, Mussard shared the artistic management of Hermès with Jean-Louis Dumas’ son Pierre-Alexis for a few years. But as Pierre-Alexis wished to take over the job alone, Mussard, who is Dumas’ niece, had to move on and launched Petit h in 2010 – the year Jean-Louis Dumas passed away.

The company she founded makes one-of-a-kind objects from unused Hermès supplies such as belt buckles, crystal glasses, cow hides, furs, and rolls and rolls of unused silks, felts and fine fabrics of all kinds. The design studio of Petit h, near Hermès’ main workshops in Pantin, outside of Paris, is an Aladdin’s cave. Mussard boasts the allure of an artist, like her uncle Jean-Louis Dumas. She has rare light aquamarine eyes and often dresses in ample clothes accessorized with oversized jewellery.

After her departure, one of the only senior creative figures left at Hermès of the Jean-Louis Dumas era will be Véronique Nichanian, in charge of Hermès menswear since 1988. Nichanian has a record of longevity close to that of Karl Lagerfeld, at Chanel’s creative helm since 1983.

Pascale Mussard – Hermès

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