Ladies First: Hélène Poulit-Duquesne On Being Inspired by KSA
Saudi Arabia’s growing empowerment of women has Boucheron’s CEO looking to the Kingdom
The CEO of the high jewellery house Boucheron isn’t your typical c-suite decision-maker. Hélène Poulit-Duquesne doesn’t give canned answers and she isn’t interested in editing or filtering herself. She is a straight shooter who says what she thinks and makes business decisions by listening to her gut and her heart, as well as her head.
“I made the drastic decision a long time ago to always be myself,” says Hélène over coffee in Riyadh. “What I mean by this is that I made a conscious choice to be exactly the same person when I am with my friends as I am at home, at work or with my kids.”
This ‘take me as I am’ independent spirit is perhaps why Hélène decided late last year that it was time for her first trip to Saudi Arabia. She was curious about the rapidly changing country and, after Boucheron dipped its toe into the market in 2021 with its first significant brand event, she decided that when it returned to unveil its Ailleurs high jewellery collection over a week-long presentation – she was going to be there.
The trip was an eye-opening experience for the executive. Hélène was well aware that strides had been made in terms of empowering women. That there had been a concerted effort by the government to give women a more prominent role in the economy as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 initiative. But she admitted that the trip was also revelatory on a much deeper level.
“I am fascinated by the speed with which this country has evolved,’’ she says with awe in her voice. “It has really impressed me. I can’t think of another time in the history of humanity when there has been such a radical and quick change. I felt this energy from the moment I arrived here, and since I have been [in Riyadh] I have been having conversations, most particularly with women, that have been very interesting, extremely moving and very open-hearted. It’s rare to find a country in the world where we can have conversations as profound as the ones I have had here,” she adds.
It also says something about the house that when it was time to choose a regional face to represent the brand that it turned to the 25-year-old Saudi actress, and former Harper’s Bazaar Saudi cover star, Mila Al Zahrani to be its ambassador. Mila is fast becoming a leading figure in the new generation of actresses in Middle Eastern cinema. Moreover, she has made a name for herself by hunting out acting roles that uplift Arab women but also challenging the status quo within the Kingdom. And by tapping a Zoomer to exemplify the brand, Boucheron also underlines its own longstanding foundational beliefs in the endless pursuit of innovation and creativity.
“We are a start-up that just happens to be 165 years old,” says Hélène. “We have a start-up mentality, which means we work quickly, are highly reactive and have very little hierarchy.”
It also means that Boucheron has proven itself over and over to be one of the most daring and original high jewellery houses in the industry today. This might not be down to the fact that it is the only luxury jewellery house with headquarters on the Place Vendôme to have women in the roles of CEO and Creative Director, but it certainly has helped. Having women in critical leadership positions has highlighted the power that inclusivity and representation can have on the global vision of a company. And in particular, for Boucheron, it can also impact the perception of the brand by a discerning clientele of women who are deciding for themselves which jewellery houses they want to patron.
“I feel like Claire [Choisne, Boucheron’s Creative Director] and I are in the right place at the right time. We are both obsessed with progress. We want to push the limits of high jewellery and help evolve this extremely traditional field. Not just for innovation’s sake but also to help us all continue to dream,” shares Hélène.
Boucheron’s Ailleurs high jewellery collection, which was brought to Saudi Arabia along with a lineup of never-before-seen in the Kingdom legacy pieces like the brand’s famed Question Mark necklace, is the perfect example of how Claire and Hélène are challenging the high jewellery status quo. The collection features an astonishing mix of materials that, on paper, would seem to have no justification whatsoever to coexist.
Who would think to create a high jewellery piece out of woven rattan? Or painstakingly carve out the backs of a series of white sea stones sourced from Greece to create a necklace embellished by shimmering diamonds? Or even build a bejewelled brooch using natural butterfly wings, a titanium framework and a smattering of brown and yellow diamonds? Only Boucheron was audacious enough to take up the challenge.
“It’s rare to find a country in the world where we can have conversations as profound as the ones I have had here,”
Hélène Poulit-Duquesne
And a challenge is exactly what Hélène is always looking for. Be it the creative challenge of crafting those butterfly wings (which took six years to perfect) or being challenged by her team. “I want them to tell me if they disagree with me, to give me their different points of view,” confirms Hélène. “After all how can I really think critically about anything if my views are never challenged?” And now, in the wake of her impactful first visit to Saudi Arabia, Hélène’s new challenge will be how to incorporate her first-hand knowledge of the Kingdom into the bright future Boucheron could have in the region.
Lead Image Courtesy of Boucheron