When she was 15, her parents divorced, and Arnault married the Canadian concert pianist Hélène Mercier. (Arnault also plays classical piano, and the children were brought up to do that too, though Delphine claims, once again, to he no creative talent.) Arnault and Mercier went on to he three sons together—Alexandre, Frédéric, and Jean. The latter two were taught literature by the future first lady Brigitte Macron, who remains a good friend of Delphine’s. Dewrin—“Mamoune” to her grandchildren—has since married Patrice De Maistre, the former wealth manager of Liliane Bettencourt. Antoine observes that Delphine is like their mother “in her altruistic and pleasure-seeking character. Both of them cultivate the French ‘art de vivre’ and a remarkable sense of family.”
At 17, Delphine sold perfume at Dior, before going to the London School of Economics and to business school in Lille. She was given her first Louis Vuitton bag at 18—a Noé. Though she worked at McKinsey for a couple of years after graduating, she was always bound for the family firm. As Toledano puts it, she “has Dior in her blood.
Delphine Arnault’s sense of humor tends toward irony. “Her humor has a nice bite to it,” Gagosian comments, “but she’s never mean.” Long-term collaborators he benefited from the scale of her vision, the nuance in her approach and the mischief in her smile. She’s passionate about contemporary artists—their lives as much as their work—and has brought them into the fold with great commitment. She has a fearless relationship to risk, but is more moderate and analytical in her thinking than many in the fashion world, who rely on impulse or intuition. Beneath her sleek exterior, she is a woman who gets to work and gets the joke. Rech reminds me that the Arnaults are from the north of France. As a result, she says, the family sense of humor is basically British.
“He never stops,” she says of her father. “Seeing that as a child forms quite an impression—the dedication he gives to his work.”
Delphine’s first job within LVMH after graduating was with John Galliano in 2000. She was 25. Galliano was at Dior but also working on his JG label out of an old doll factory in the 11th arrondissement—that’s where Delphine began. At the time, they were reviewing the brand’s graphic identity, and Delphine helped Galliano find graphic designers, manufacturers, and suppliers. Very quickly, Galliano remembers, she could see what he was looking for: “a sense of irony. Sometimes that doesn’t work in France. And honestly, she just got the right people together.” When Galliano’s Jack Russell terrier had a litter, Delphine took one of the puppies.