What is your favourite detail about the new Hong Kong store? What makes this store different from the one in Paris?

It is really cool that we are situated right at the entrance of Harvey Nichols. This is why we decided to pump up the saturation of the colours. In comparison, the colours we used in Paris are mild. I love the beautiful backdrop inspired by our precious metal, which is used in the store facade in Paris. It all goes back to how we think at S.T. Dupont — we love to create bespoke products; thus, the designs of our stores are also bespoke to where they are located.

If you were to describe S.T. Dupont’s new brand identity, which words would you choose and why?

We actually thought about that quite a bit and came up with this tagline: “Shake up the legacy.” We were born in 1872, and we just celebrated our 150th anniversary last year in 2022. Over the past centuries, the people who used our travel cases or accessories were forgers, not followers. The first client of Dupont was Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon. She was famous for being one of the most edgy ladies of the 19th century and always opted for original products. The same goes for the Duchess of Windsor, an American divorcee who married the former King of England. These were the people who were shaking up history. Another one of our clients was Picasso, one of the world’s most creative painters. So that’s why we say “shake up the legacy” because we are trying to shake up our own legacy. The people who were friends of the house also did the same.

Alongside introducing a new store concept, S.T. Dupont is introducing new lines of leather goods for women and new lines of men and unisex leather goods. What inspired them?

One of the first lines we came up with was Apex — it means the peak or the summit. For Apex, we re-created what we call the mini trunk. It’s interesting because it harks back to a very interesting moment in the brand’s history. In the 1930s, a huge client of Dupont, an Indian Maharaja, came to Paris with 100 wives. He wanted to go to the opera with all of them. To treat each of them, he ordered 100 evening bags, also known as minaudières, a compact clutch. Back in the day, it was quite common to enjoy a cigarette during intermission, so the Maharaja also ordered 100 lighters to go into each of those bags, which gave Mr. Dupont the idea of making a lighter. These minaudières have been reimagined into Apex mini trunks, but the leather is reworked with a 3D effect for texture.

We have another line called the Riviera, which was also inspired by our past. In the 1950s, Audrey Hepburn ordered a Dupont bag. The young actress asked for a bag that was a little bit bigger, like a small weekender, with a little drawer to put her makeup in. So they created this bag with a secret compartment where she could hide products such as lipstick and compact powder, and it became rather popular among different actresses of her day. However, the leather bag was quite heavy. Now, we have re-launched a much lighter, modern version. It still has a hidden pocket in the front just for its owner and closes with a lock in the shape of a Dupont lighter.

Do you have a favourite piece from the new collections?

The X-Bag, which is more modern compared to the rest. We took an iconic motif of the Maison, the Fire Head — imagine a three-sided pyramid but with a big tip. We worked with our Italian partners to create a 3D effect with premium leather. We put four Fire Head pyramids together on the front panel, and it looks like an X. This bag brims with character. Actually, I have a daughter who is 25. When she first saw our new collections, she was immediately drawn to the X-Bag and was like “Wow, this one is cool!”

Having spent decades working in the luxury industry, how have people’s tastes and styles changed over the years? How has S.T. Dupont evolved with that?

What makes this industry so interesting and fascinating is that it is ever-changing. While there is change, a large level of it is inspired by the past to create a better future. Change and history — these two factors seem contradictory but actually complement each other. I have noticed that the young generation is developing a penchant for brands with an interesting past. It was not the case before. A few years back, I remember thinking: “Oh, we have over 100 years of history. So what?” But now, people are interested, and we are lucky that we have a glorious past which features a lot of relationships with icons from the 19th and 20th century. So, we are returning to our roots and building bridges across generations through storytelling.

What’s next for S.T. Dupont?

We have a lot of interesting projects coming up. In the past, we have done a few collaborations in the world of fashion. Anthony Vaccarello from Saint Laurent has always liked Dupont lighters, and because I’m a relatively old man, [chuckles], I have been lucky enough to meet Karl Lagerfeld during my younger years and got to know him quite well. I even worked a bit with Saint Laurent himself in his late days. Yves Saint Laurent was also a big fan of Dupont, a collector of lighters and pens. So Anthony ordered, just for the Saint Laurent shops, a special collection of faceted lighters from Dupont. Now that we are bringing back our bags, we are looking to do more cross-fertilisation and collaborations with more fashion houses beyond Saint Laurent. So you might find some interesting things coming, but I cannot talk about it yet. [Laughs] We can talk again in three to six months!