Patrick Guerrand-Hermès (Pins: 1943 - 1949): a destiny and a name

June 2023 By Sarra Essouayeni and Jérôme Lamy, in Asilah (Morocco)

His name is in the history of France and in the hearts of fashion lovers the world over. His simplicity and sensitivity are his signature and the key to his success in the business world as head of the Hermès Group and in sport as head of the International Polo Federation. Meet Patrick Guerrand-Hermès, a man to whom life has given much and taken much too.

The Hermès name is a promise of refinement, delicacy, distinction and subtlety. Patrick Guerrand-Hermès - Guerrand on father Jean-René's side and Hermès on mother Aline's - doesn't just live up to his ambitious expectations. He magnifies them with his intense blue eyes and natural elegance. Affable and benevolent, he welcomed us with the kindness and simplicity that are the hallmarks of the famous fashion and accessories house founded by his great-grandfather Thierry in 1837. At the time, Hermès International specialized in the manufacture of horse harnesses.

There's no such thing as chance. Horses are at the heart of Patrick Guerrand-Hermès' life. It even plays the leading role. Before being a horseman, Patrick was above all a child of war. Born in Paris in 1932 into a Normandy family, he was inevitably marked by the First World War (1939-1945). "To say I'm traumatized is too strong a word," he confides. "Time has passed, but there's still the fear, the memories of traveling third class in the nets above the carriages, the iron bars digging into your ribs, your mother's voice ordering you to keep quiet, the fear that the Germans might open the door without warning."

There's also the anecdote of the Citroën family in Mantes, where Patrick and his family had taken refuge. "When the Germans arrived and wanted to occupy this beautiful house with swimming pool and golf course, my mom asked us to take children and stuffed animals in our arms to give the impression that there were 20 of us living together, when in fact there were only 12." The Germans turned back. And the Hermès family headed for Paris. "My father thought it was less dangerous..." explains Patrick, who lived through the liberation on Avenue Foch. He remembers the tanks of the 2nd armored division, and the Parisians who turned their backs overnight. "At the Liberation, everyone had become a Resistance fighter," he says. "Whereas we knew that anyone wearing an armband had eaten ham throughout the war."

Patrick Guerrand-Hermès doesn't eat his hat. He is neither fooled nor resentful. He prefers to rally his memories around the formidable unity of the Hermès family. "I think of my grandparents, who were very loving, tender and generous," he confides. And to devote himself to his budding passion for horses, which remains with him to this day. Jean-René Guerrand-Hermès is not only a perfumer of recognized talent and nose. He is also a cadet at the Saumur cavalry school. He accompanies his son to Polo de Paris, at Aoulette's on Avenue de Neuilly. The trainer, who was also the Rotschild family trainer, encouraged him to ride assiduously to become a good polo player. No doubt he had in mind a quotation from Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom: "The best way to open up to the world is a good polo ranking." Patrick opens up to the world and to gastronomy. After horse-riding sessions, Jean-René Guerrand-Hermès never misses an opportunity to take a break at Jarrase, the institution on Avenue de Madrid in Neuilliy-sur-Seine, to enjoy a platter of oysters with his son.

Patrick-Guerrand Hermès is not yet ranked in polo. But he's already taking in the world. It was an ambition shared with his parents. His upbringing was Protestant. The values of hard work and effort are an unshakeable foundation. It's not austerity, but it looks like it. He learns English in Copenhagen, Denmark. He graduated from the legendary Oxford University, northwest of London. He crossed Germany, which was still a field of ruins. And reached the United States by boat from the port of Tunis. It won't be a cruise. It was a nightmare! "My father put me to work on the boat as a deckhand," he recalls. "It was mostly symbolic. You had to earn what you got. You also have to remember that at the Liberation, everyone was ruined, including the Rotschild family. They had to rebuild their empire. In any case, my parents were wonderful. My mom gave me infinite maternal love, while my dad, who was more of a thinker, shaped my character."

Arriving in Miami, South Florida, Patrick travelled to Dallas by bus with the American middle class. "I grew up without any money, so it wouldn't go to my head, unlike the children of other large families who have always lived in opulence," explains Patrick Guerrand-Hermès. "We were rich in heritage, but not necessarily with deep pockets. And of course, the war hadn't helped matters." The fantastic American tour between Florida and Texas stretches over two long days. Dallas has to be earned! Patrick was welcomed into the home of a doctor who had set up a polo team. Before long, he was playing among the derricks, the metal towers that support the drilling rigs of oil wells. "I lived between the horses' legs," says PGH. "The horse manure was a godsend. My maternal uncle taught me the rigors of riding and respect for the horse. I owe him a lot. I've been riding all my life. Even today, I try to ride every day.

Patrick Guerrand-Hermès returned to Paris with a passion for equestrian sport but empty pockets. "I didn't have enough money to play polo," he confesses. "I could only ride the training horses at 7 a.m. in Chantilly." At Jimmy's, the fashionable Parisian discotheque of his youth, Patrick has his own habits. He leaves the club on Boulevard Montparnasse at precisely 6.30 a.m. to head for Chantilly. In my Renault 4, I've driven from Jimmy's to Chantilly so many times," says PGH. "The journey took 28 minutes, not one more. If I got there at 7:02, I'd give myself a reprimand."

In Bayeux, Normandy, he learned the rigors of the equestrian world from Emeric Couperie-Eiffel, a genuine show jumping specialist, and in Maisons Laffitte, Yvelines, from Jean-François Mathet, one of the world's leading racehorse trainers. "I used to get up at 5 a.m. to go riding in Bayeux with the Couperie family," Patrick recalls. "A bourgeois like me wouldn't cry or try to make people cry. I'd be too ashamed. But if Dad doesn't give you the Corvette and the horse that goes with it, you make do with what you've got and with what you haven't spent at the disco. I used to do a lot of eventing. But the winner only earned 222 francs."

His passion is priceless. He has rubbed shoulders with the stars of the equestrian world. It's his best salary. At François Mathet, he has a close relationship with the legendary jockey Yves Saint-Martin. "It was an honor to ride with the greatest French jockey," says Patrick Guerrand-Hermès. In the world of show jumping, he made friends with the most talented French rider, Marcel Rozier, whom he rubbed shoulders with at certain competitions. "Patrick was a very good rider, very flexible," says Marcel. "I was the least good of the good," Patrick moderates.

Their first meeting took place in Deauville, at a Selle Français auction. The champion recommended a horse to Patrick Guerrand-Hermès, who made a bid and won. "The horse's name was Etna," recalls Marcel Rozier. "He was fantastic. I even regretted not buying him for a long time. He was to please Patrick's eldest son, Lionel Guerrand-Hermès, to whom all observers promise a great international career. With his mount, the young rider will take part in the European Junior Championships. "Marcel knows how to detect a horse's value better than anyone else," assures PGH. "He's a great figure in world equestrianism. He's a man of infinite imagination. I've seen him share his knowledge and expertise a thousand times over. But, like the great chefs, he kept the best for himself, the detail that makes the difference, that saves a decisive second between obstacles. The Rozier family was a French family, a normal, touching family with peasant generosity, kindness and tenderness."

Patrick and Marcel crossed paths again a few months later in the rural setting of the Château du Vaudreuil park (Eure), where an international junior show-jumping competition organized by Anne Raoul Duval and Patrick Guerrand-Hermès was taking place. "The competition quickly gained worldwide renown," confesses Marcel Rozier. "Patrick is a man who acts and speaks from the heart. The obstacle sponsored by Hermès was magnificent. In fact, it was Patrick who brought the image of equestrian sports to the House of Hermès.

Patrick Guerrand-Hermès's professional life is inevitably marked by the luxury house of the same name, which he headed for ten years in the 1980s. His grandfather Emile-Maurice Hermès appointed him as his successor. "I wasn't able to keep the crown, but I spent ten exciting years," says PGH. "I've been lucky enough to belong to an exceptional family, expert in craftsmanship and manual trades, and recognized at the highest level worldwide. The harness and saddle factory became a luxury leather goods, prêt-à-porter and perfume house.

Émile-Maurice Hermès's sons-in-law accentuated this transformation: Jean-René Guerrand, Patrick's father, and Robert Dumas. The former developed the perfume division, while the latter was responsible for the success of leather goods and carrés. The two men pursued the company's development, combining assertive quality with creative dazzle. In the 1930s, Robert Dumas had the genius to pull the ladies' bag with straps out of his hat. In the late 1950s, rumor had it that Grace Kelly, Hollywood star turned Princess of Monaco, had been photographed with the bag concealing the first curves of her pregnancy.

The mythical Kelly d'Hermès was born. It was Patrick Guerrand-Hermès who divulged this chic and romantic story. "Grace Kelly is one of the most endearing people I've met in my life," confides PGH. "She was driven by a kind of American charity. I invited her to a Spanish horse show at the Club de l'Etrier in Paris. She came accompanied by patients from the Princess Grace Hospital. She helped disabled people to walk, at 7 in the morning. She got involved with the strength of sincerity. She was admirable.

Under the presidency of Patrick Guerrand-Hermès, the Group experienced incredible international expansion, specializing in silk. "We opened Hermès boutiques in London, Tokyo and all over the world," says PGH, who will pass the baton to his cousin Jean-Louis Dumas. "He was so intelligent, brilliant, attractive and modern," he says. "I didn't want to conflict or compete with him. Nonetheless, Patrick Guerrand-Hermès still brings his undeniable influence to bear on the Group's development at family shareholder meetings. "I'm obviously very happy with the brand's development," says Patrick. "My nephews are very respectful of their employees' well-being and of family traditions.

And even though Patrick is no longer a member of the Board of Directors - "I was the one who imposed the rule that you had to be under 70 to sit on the Board", he says - he's still involved, like his mother Aline, who was Vice-Chairman of the Management Board of Emile Hermès SARL until she was 98. Right up to the end of her life, her presence and whimsy enlivened the events of the Hermès Alumni Club she had founded.

Since 2012, Patrick Guerrand-Hermès has been walking on two legs between France and Morocco, where he spends nine months of the year. Morocco is no accident in his life. It's his destiny. He did his military service with the 4th Regiment of Moroccan Spahis, a cavalry unit of the French Army. Later, in Dallas, he received Prince Moulay Abdellah, the youngest son of His Majesty King Mohammed V. "I was invited to a ball in Washington at the home of the Guess brothers, who are great polo players," says PGH greedily. "After thirty kilometers, I ran out of gas and didn't have enough money to fill the tank. I offered to sell Prince Moulay Abdellah his gold cufflinks so I wouldn't run out of gas."

The rest of the day was just as incredible. The ball was packed with celebrities, including John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the youngest elected President of the United States. The man nicknamed Jack was delighted to chat with a Moroccan prince. "They spent the whole evening together," Patrick recalls. "Kennedy asked a lot of questions about the colonization of African countries. In the purest American tradition, he was opposed to any influence of one country over another. Prince Moulay Abdellah later told me that it was one of the most beautiful evenings of his life.

On his return to Morocco, the Prince gave a detailed account of his incredible trip to the United States to his brother, His Majesty Hassan II. "I was invited to all the events organized by the Royal Palace," confides Patrick Guerrand-Hermès, who took the young Prince Mohammed VI on a tour of the Hermès workshops in Faubourg Saint-Honoré, at the Sovereign's request. "Morocco has given me great stories of friendship," confides Patrick. With tears in his eyes, he mentions Princess Lalla Fatima Zohra, eldest daughter of King Mohammed V, and Prime Minister Abdellatif Filali (1994-1998). "He used to come and take refuge at my place, tell me everything, and I wouldn't repeat anything," says Patrick. He also mentions horseman Hamid Abdelhamid. "He knew horses like nobody else in the world," he says with admiration.

He eventually settled in Morocco with his wife Martine Borgeaud. In the 1980s, the couple refurbished Aïn Kassimou in Marrakech, a villa built for Leo Tolstoy's daughter. For the decoration, he indulged his passion for oriental arts. Above all, the house was the ideal location for official visits. "The Palais Royal Royal used us as a second dining room for the 2nd day of political visits," confirms PGH, who remembers the bonhomie of Jacques Chirac and the snobbery of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. "It was a very lively period, more fun than a counter at Deauville.

And infinitely less exciting than a polo match: Patrick Guerrand-Hermès has set up two fields on the Marrakech estate, separated by an earthen wall which his son Mathias jumps over cheerfully. "He invented jumping polo," smiles PGH. His Majesty is a regular visitor, passing through the back gate. The village children are ecstatic: the Coca-Cola distribution is free. They admire their idol, the talented Mathias Guerrand-Hermès, and regularly chant his name. "In Marrakech, we've succeeded in creating a social link and getting children from neighbouring villages interested," enthuses PGH. "In Asilah, it's much harder...".

When he decided to sell his Marrakech villa and leave the Ochre City, Patrick Guerrand-Hermès opted for Northern Morocco. "His Majesty Hassan II left me no choice," he smiles. "He asked me to settle in Larache, where he moved his horses in the summer. On landing at Tangier airport, PGH discovered a deserted beach. It was there, in the middle of nowhere, in this temple of silence, that he built the PGH Palmeraie Polo Club, in Rehouna, facing the Atlantic Ocean, between Asilah and Larache. And put the Tangier region on the world polo map. Between white sand beaches, dunes and exotic landscapes, the estate boasts three polo fields, a daily training track, a club house, paddocks... "This club looks like Patrick," says Marcel. This club looks like Patrick," says Marcel Rozier, who attended the inauguration of the premises in 2018. "He doesn't try to show off, he simply expresses his passion."

His passion for polo led him to become President of the International Polo Federation (FIP) between 2000 and 2009. In Beverly Hills, on the outskirts of Los Angeles, headquarters of the FIP, Patrick Guerrand-Hermès faces storms on a daily basis. "For nine years, I encountered jealousies I'd never experienced elsewhere," says PGH. "The American Polo Federation took umbrage at our aggressive policy for the international development of polo. Even in the business world with Hermès, I'd never experienced such a race for responsibility. And yet, the idea is not to serve, but to serve one's sport."

This did not prevent him from successfully organizing the 2004 World Polo Championship at the Polo Club du Domaine du Château de Chantilly, over which he has presided since the early 1970s. Old polo players are stubborn... With its history - Louis XVI organized the first purebred horse race in Chantilly - its unique location, its ten polo fields, its 300 players and its 4,000 horses in training, the club has nothing to envy to Palermo, the famous club in Buenos Aires, or to Guards Polo Club, located in the grounds of Windsor Castle, west of London. Above all, Patrick Guerrand-Hermès has succeeded in breaking down polo's regional roots to give it a global profile. "Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have become the new cradles of polo," enthuses this top executive. "The passion of Middle Eastern countries for our sport is great news. It's a note of hope for polo's survival, because it's very complicated to mobilize the public. It's up to these countries to create events like the Palermo Open final in Buenos Aires."

In the United Arab Emirates, Patrick Guerrand-Hermès is on familiar ground. During his tenure at the head of FIP, he attended the annual general meeting of the UAE federation in Abu Dhabi, chaired by Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed. He is also no stranger to Dubai, which he first visited in... 1958! At the time, Dubai was a modest town with a traditional way of life based on cattle breeding, date harvesting and pearl fishing. "There were two buildings, one four storeys high, the other three," recalls PGH. "I went to Dubai to buy gold bracelets for our jewelry line. There was a gold crisis in Europe." He would return for numerous stays, meeting new people and forging friendships, notably with Ali Albwardy, whom he met in 1958. "Ali owns the Dubai Polo Country Club, which hosts the Cartier International Polo Challenge every year," explains Patrick. "He was also a professional player of remarkable talent and charisma. And of course, PGH is not insensitive to the phenomenal success of the Hermès boutique at the Dubai Mall.

In any case, it's not his experience at the head of the International Polo Federation that gives him any regrets about having stayed away from politics, despite requests from former French President Georges Pompidou. "I was undoubtedly approached for my name, my network and my influence," says Patrick Guerrand-Hermès. "You have to remember that the world was a world in miniature. In New York, 7,000 people made the city move, in Paris 3,000 and in Rabat 200. Naturally, I knew many of them. In France, he's on first-name terms with 80% of the government. "The others are the ones I didn't like," says the man who makes no secret of his admiration for President De Gaulle. His grand-mother Julie Hollande, a veteran of the French Resistance, was one of the General's most fervent supporters. In 1958, Julie and Patrick went to Cannes to attend a meeting of the presidential candidate. And as the General loved the Hermès tradition in general, and its silk carré in particular, the respect was profound.

Patrick Guerrand-Hermès prefers sport to political jousting. On the eve of his 90th birthday, he's not complaining... "A life of sport guarantees a better balance to maintain your health", he certifies. A life of sport guarantees a better balance for good health", he certifies. "If, at 90, I'm still here, ranting and raving, it's undoubtedly thanks to this discipline, this healthy lifestyle. We're careful about what we eat, we forget about the last drink. These aren't sacrifices, they just happen naturally."

Like death. He's not afraid of it. Even if it has been too present in his life, robbing him of the love of two sons, the worst tragedy for a father. Lionel, victim of a tragic road accident at 18, and Mathias, unjustly disappeared following a heart attack at 38. A double raw tragedy that never subsides. "You're the first to ask me this question," he admits. "Thank you for broaching the subject. It's a fundamental question. No, I'm not afraid of death. It's lurking out there, not far away. It's already beckoned me. I've lost two children and a granddaughter. I'm a Protestant. I'm a believer, but I ask myself questions. I believe in the similarity of religions. I live with Muslims who pray five times a day. That makes them better human beings. I had an absolute friendship with Abdellatif Filali. We were so close. You would have had to be ill-intentioned to find a spiritual conflict between us."

When it's time for his final journey, he'll appeal to tradition. It's the story of his life. "The old grandparents' church will be perfect. I don't necessarily imagine a service, just hymnal music. At least I won't be able to talk shit."

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