Hermes Australia boss Karin Upton Baker launches Supreme Court action against Kennards storage

Sydney society darling and Australian boss of French fashion house Hermes Karin Upton Baker is embroiled in a mysterious potential legal showdown with Kennards Storage.

Karin Upton Baker at the Hermes store in Sydney.

It’s the mysterious potential legal showdown that could see a ­society queen and doyenne of Sydney fashion take on a storage company, a building company and a ­waterproofing company.

So what has led Karin Upton Baker, the long-time managing director of luxury fashion house Hermes Australia, to consider taking action in the NSW ­Supreme Court, which hears cases where the claim is worth more than $750,000?

The 62-year-old has launched a civil suit against Kennards Self Storage, a building company and a ­waterproofing company. The case is not due to be mentioned until July 8.

When contacted by The Saturday Telegraph about the nature of the case, the ex-Harper’s Bazaar ­editor gave a terse response before declining to comment.

Karin Upton Baker has launched a civil suit against Kennards Self Storage, a building company and a ­waterproofing company. Picture: John Grainger

However, a source said the lawsuit was related to damage allegedly inflicted on a series of expensive items that Ms Upton Baker had been storing at a Kennards facility.

The source said several expensive dresses were in the treasure trove of items.

Lawyers for Kennards, the building company and the waterproofing company declined to comment.

Karin and Gary Upton Baker at a social event in 1995.

Ms Upton Baker, who has run the Australian arm of the French fashion company Hermes for 20 years, may also have needed storage space after she relocated from the Sydney CBD to a luxury two-bedroom apartment in Darlinghurst’s historic Dominion building.

It continues a turbulent period in her life.

While Hermes secured a $40 million profit in 2020, Ms Upton Baker’s 37-year marriage to developer Gary Upton Baker ended in divorce in the same year. To the public, the marriage breakdown was a surprise.

The couple had occupied the apex of Sydney’s social set, hosting famed parties at their palatial Elizabeth Bay penthouse, which boasted an indoor swimming pool and grand views of Sydney Harbour.

The property was sold off for ­almost $6 million in 2014 after they faced multiple court actions following the collapse of Gary Upton Baker’s property empire under the weight of $17 million of debts.

Ms Upton Baker was drawn into the affair because she had been a signatory on almost $6 million worth of loans.

In 2011, she told the Supreme Court that her husband “enjoyed such an ascendancy over” her that she signed mortgage documents “under threat that, if she did not do so, the family would lose everything”.

Gary Upton Baker was declared bankrupt between 2011 and 2014.

Karin Upton Baker settled out of court with the money lenders in 2012.

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