9:30 am - 12 noon (General Meeting)

12 noon - 2:30 pm (Luncheon)

Luncheon: £49 – includes 2-course meal, wine, coffee and petits fours

Royal Automobile Club

89 Pall Mall, London SW1 5HS

(Nearest tube: Green Park or Piccadilly Circus)

GUEST SPEAKER: Mme Ménéhould de Bazelaire du Chatelle; Director of Hermès Cultural Heritage On The Émile Hermès Collection: The Secret Beyond the Door

The final General Meeting of the year promises to bring our milestone 30th anniversary to a stylish grand finale. Hermès, having graciously honoured kcwc by creating a bespoke anniversary scarf, will be giving our members a special glimpse behind the scenes of this world renowned house of luxury to discover the history of the Hermès style. Ménéhould de Bazelaire du Chatelle, Director of Hermès Cultural Heritage, will explore Hermès’s sporting spirit which remains very much alive within the walls of the Èmile Hermès Museum.

Parisian harness and saddle maker Thierry Hermès founded his eponymous enterprise in 1837, specialising in elegant calèches, harnesses and functional equestrian fittings for its cherished first client, the horse. Since its inception, Hermès has sought to capture the beauty and dynamics of equestrian power and grace, energy and movement, and life in the outdoors, through its beautiful equine equipage, which gave the company its initial allure. Later on, Émile Maurice Hermès, the third generation of the family, pulled together a private collection of artifacts and antiques reflective of the rich patrimony of the House, which has continued to serve as a source of inspiration for generations of skilled craftsmen.

Mme Ménéhould de Bazelaire studied Literature, Latin, Greek and History at the Sorbonne in Paris. She was a teacher in Paris and at the French Lycée in New York. She worked at the Drawing Department in the Musée du Louvre, and joined Hermès as a curator of the Émile Hermès Collection in 1986. Following the speaker, members are invited to stay for the annual June luncheon in the glorious Mountbatten Room of the Royal Automobile Club. We would like to encourage you to wear your fabulous fascinators, heavenly hats and stylish Hermès scarves - or any scarf at all! There will be scarf-tying demonstrations and a prize awarded to the most inventive scarf creation. There will also be a silent auction with fabulous donated items, and our very own Treblemakers will entertain us with three decades of West End tunes spanning the Club’s existence.

Do book early for the optional lunch following the meeting, as we expect this to sell out quickly! RSVP/payment for luncheon only, to Gail Reichert at events1@kcwc.org.uk; or book your ticket(s) online using payment code: MBBK768ZP

GENERAL MEETING SCHEDULE:
9:30am-10:30am: Coffee and activity sign–ups
10:30am-12 noon: Announcements followed by the Guest Speaker
12 noon-2:30pm: Luncheon (ticket holders only)

Dress code: Hats, scarves and fascinators optional.

THANK YOU to our silent auction contributors for their generous donations: bliss spa, Chewton Glen, Cliveden House, Daniel Galvin, Milan Shopping, and Noelle Irvine.

RAC policy reminder: Denims or trainers not permitted. Use of mobile phones and other communication devices is NOT allowed inside the RAC. Outside beverages and food are NOT permitted.