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flaunt the imperfection
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Thursday, March 03, 2005
The Latest From Lanvin
By Miles Socha
PARIS — “It’s not easy when [business conditions] are not perfect, but it gives you the drive. When you lack things, you have to think and find solutions. This is designing.”
Elbaz was alluding to Lanvin’s ongoing financial woes and tight cost controls. Last year, the house let go 65 employees and exited the perfume and watch businesses in an effort to stem heavy losses, which had mounted to 22 million euros on sales of 79.3 million euros in 2003, or losses of $29 million on sales of $104.7 million at current exchange.
Majority owner Shaw-Lan Wang, a Taiwanese publishing magnate, and her son, Sing-Ming Chu, who run the business, declined to be interviewed, even as speculation continues to whirl about the possibility of them selling all or part of the business.
But Elbaz — said he is content with Wang’s take-it-slow approach.
“Everyone works on a different time schedule. You have to ask, ‘Do you want to have stores all over the world?’ I’m not sure I want that,” Elbaz mused over lunch at the Crillon bar here. “Lanvin is a special house. The beauty of this brand is that it’s not everywhere; not everyone wears it. Moving gradually is better for me.”
And Lanvin is making undeniable headway.
An earnest but nervous sort, Elbaz acknowledges he has blossomed at Lanvin. Trained by the late Geoffrey Beene for seven years, Israeli-born Elbaz was thrust into the limelight in 1996 when he was recruited to head Guy Laroche.
Reflecting on the difficult three seasons spent at YSL, Elbaz mused that working for the house was “too intimidating,” not only because he succeeded a living legend, but because Tom Ford and Domenico De Sole swooped in and tried to orchestrate a revival à la Gucci.
“Not everything in life is like coffee; not everything is instant,” said Elbaz, who is partial to talking in such similes. “Time is a very important factor.”[B/]
To be sure, Elbaz’s ability to stage winning fashion shows and create collections with editorial appeal has grown exponentially since his YSL days. Asked to account for the change, he said: “More than anything [my time at YSL] helped me to focus — what I know, what I want to do. I’m more true to myself now and more honest with my work and I’m enjoying the moment. I feel more mature.”
And happier at Lanvin, which he praises for its “human scale” and for the freedom to “make mistakes, be less corporate and less formulaic....When you work with joy, it’s reflected in the colors, the fabrics and the feeling of the clothes.”
Elbaz, who last fall squelched widespread speculation he was headed to Givenchy by renewing a “long-term” contract with Lanvin, said he stayed because of a strong rapport with Wang —
“I get along with her very well. She’s an extremely intelligent woman,” he said. “She doesn’t interfere with my work. She let go. I proved it could be done. I proved we could grow the business. She has me more involved in more decisions and I feel very welcomed.”
Thursday, March 03, 2005
The Latest From Lanvin
By Miles Socha
PARIS — “It’s not easy when [business conditions] are not perfect, but it gives you the drive. When you lack things, you have to think and find solutions. This is designing.”
Elbaz was alluding to Lanvin’s ongoing financial woes and tight cost controls. Last year, the house let go 65 employees and exited the perfume and watch businesses in an effort to stem heavy losses, which had mounted to 22 million euros on sales of 79.3 million euros in 2003, or losses of $29 million on sales of $104.7 million at current exchange.
Majority owner Shaw-Lan Wang, a Taiwanese publishing magnate, and her son, Sing-Ming Chu, who run the business, declined to be interviewed, even as speculation continues to whirl about the possibility of them selling all or part of the business.
But Elbaz — said he is content with Wang’s take-it-slow approach.
“Everyone works on a different time schedule. You have to ask, ‘Do you want to have stores all over the world?’ I’m not sure I want that,” Elbaz mused over lunch at the Crillon bar here. “Lanvin is a special house. The beauty of this brand is that it’s not everywhere; not everyone wears it. Moving gradually is better for me.”
And Lanvin is making undeniable headway.
An earnest but nervous sort, Elbaz acknowledges he has blossomed at Lanvin. Trained by the late Geoffrey Beene for seven years, Israeli-born Elbaz was thrust into the limelight in 1996 when he was recruited to head Guy Laroche.
Reflecting on the difficult three seasons spent at YSL, Elbaz mused that working for the house was “too intimidating,” not only because he succeeded a living legend, but because Tom Ford and Domenico De Sole swooped in and tried to orchestrate a revival à la Gucci.
“Not everything in life is like coffee; not everything is instant,” said Elbaz, who is partial to talking in such similes. “Time is a very important factor.”[B/]
To be sure, Elbaz’s ability to stage winning fashion shows and create collections with editorial appeal has grown exponentially since his YSL days. Asked to account for the change, he said: “More than anything [my time at YSL] helped me to focus — what I know, what I want to do. I’m more true to myself now and more honest with my work and I’m enjoying the moment. I feel more mature.”
And happier at Lanvin, which he praises for its “human scale” and for the freedom to “make mistakes, be less corporate and less formulaic....When you work with joy, it’s reflected in the colors, the fabrics and the feeling of the clothes.”
Elbaz, who last fall squelched widespread speculation he was headed to Givenchy by renewing a “long-term” contract with Lanvin, said he stayed because of a strong rapport with Wang —
“I get along with her very well. She’s an extremely intelligent woman,” he said. “She doesn’t interfere with my work. She let go. I proved it could be done. I proved we could grow the business. She has me more involved in more decisions and I feel very welcomed.”