Designers Switching Houses & Moving to New Brands

[GERGIN]

^

Hmmmm something tells me he’s got bigger plans arranged for him...

 

[Lola701]

^^
He would be so good at Kenzo and I would add him as a contender for Hermès. It’s time for Nadège to leave...Really!

 

[dodencebt]

Just got word from Missoni's PR that Margherita Missoni has been appointed creative director of M Missoni effective immediately.

 

[dodencebt]

Lacoste Names Louise Trotter As Creative Director

PARIS — Lacoste has named Louise Trotter creative director, marking the first time a woman has filled the position in the history of the house.
The former Joseph designer will present her first collection for the label for the fall 2019 season, Lacoste said. The brand’s spring 2019 collection was designed in-house following the departure of Felipe Oliveira Baptista in May after eight years at the creative helm.
“We are very happy to welcome Louise. Her visionary approach on lines and materials, as well as her expertise in creating highly technical pieces, will be real assets to strengthen the positioning of our collections,” said Lacoste chief excutive officer Thierry Guibert, who wants to refocus the brand on its sports roots.
“I am delighted to join this French brand with such a unique heritage. For 85 years, the modernity of the Lacoste style has resided in this singular fusion of sport and fashion. I am proud to contribute to the writing of a new chapter in its history,” said Trotter.
Trotter joined Joseph in 2009 from the British high street label Jigsaw, where she also held the title of creative director. Before Jigsaw, she served as senior vice president, creative director of H Hilfiger. She was previously vice president of product design and development for women’s merchandise at Gap brand.
During her tenure at Joseph, Trotter put a strong focus on luxe separates, buttery leathers and a mix of tailored and fluid clothing. She was credited with launching men’s wear and accessories for the brand.
Best known for its iconic crocodile logo polo shirt, Lacoste this year is celebrates its 85th anniversary. The brand last September returned to Paris from New York to stage its first ready-to-wear show in the city in 13 years.
For the spring collection, it opted for a presentation. The line, designed by an in-house team, played on a “sportcore” mix of Nineties streetwear references with oversize volumes and the brand’s tennis DNA.
Guibert previously told WWD he found the label unfocused when he took over the helm of the company — owned by Swiss retail group Maus Frères SA — in 2015.
“One of the main tasks when I arrived was to give the brand a clear direction,” he said, noting it had turned too much toward fashion and away from sports. “Sport-inspired and French elegance, these are the two pillars we are leaning on.”
Under his watch, Lacoste has revved up its marketing efforts on sports ambassadors, notably tennis star Novak Djokovic, and sponsoring new tennis tournaments as well as creating capsule collections carrying a Made in France label.
Guibert has also been busy overhauling the distribution network around the world, particularly in the U.S., Lacoste’s largest market, where it generates 15 percent of group sales.
Lacoste, whose link to tennis goes back to its founder René Lacoste, a French tennis legend nicknamed “the crocodile,” is also looking to revive its tennis racket business. The brand, which sponsors tennis tournaments including Roland Garros, the Miami Open and the ATP Finals, last year acquired Tecnifibre, a French company that specializes in tennis and squash equipment.
Under Oliveira Baptista’s tenure, revenues at Lacoste grew from around 1 billion euros in 2009 to more than 2 billion euros in 2016, the most recent figures released by the house. The designer was building on the momentum set by his predecessor Christophe Lemaire, who was credited with reviving the brand, tripling its sales during his decade-long tenure there.
Known for his avant-garde, experimental creations, Oliveira Baptista, who was a self-described niche designer when he arrived at Lacoste in 2010, put his namesake brand on hold in 2014. During his time at Lacoste, he collaborated with designers and houses including Maison Lesage, Jean-Paul Goude, Yazbukey and Supreme.
The brand has also seen a number of changes in its communications department over the past few months.
Pascal Collet, the brand’s longtime international press and public relations director, parted ways with the house in mid February. Mathieu Baboulène joined as international PR manager in May 2017 and left recently to join Coach.
Mathias Monge has just joined the house from Nike in the role of global communications and events director, with the new head of press and public relations yet to be announced.
Among other changes, Lacoste plans to move into new headquarters in Paris’ 16th arrondissement, with details yet to be confirmed.

wwd.com

 

[Benn98]

Serge Ruffieux leaves Carven

The Swiss-born designer is on the move

By Victoria Kingdon
Nov 5, 2018

Serge Ruffieux, the creative director of Carven is to leave the label after just three seasons.

His departure comes following the acquisition of the French fashion house by Chinese clothing company Icicle. In a statement released to WWD a spokesperson for the company said, "We recognize Serge Ruffieux’s great talent but we need time to evaluate the situation and make decisions that are the most appropriate to accompany the relaunching of Carven notably for what concerns creative direction and style."

Swiss-born Ruffieux was appointed creative director of the label in February 2017, overseeing all ready-to-wear and accessories. The designer had previously come from Dior where, along with his partner Lucie Meier, he led the design team under Raf Simons, producing the Autumn 2016, Resort 2017, and Autumn and Spring 2016 Haute Couture collections for the house.

During his three seasons at the helm of Carven, Ruffieux injected a younger, more urban spirit into the heritage brand. The designer's next move is unclear but, well known for his ability to inject a sense of fun and frivolity into a label, he will no doubt be highly in demand.

Harpersbazaar.com

 

[tatouejeremie]

Poiret is no longer under the creative direction of Yiqing Yin

By Anaïs Lerévérend


11 December 2018
She made a strong impression with her first runway show for the revived Poiret brand in March 2018, but her tenure has been short-lived. French designer Yiqing Yin has stepped down as artistic director of the historic womenswear label, which was founded by Paul Poiret in 1903 and had been somewhat dormant before it was acquired and relaunched by Korean company Shinsegae in 2015.

The Korean luxury distributor confided Yiqing Yin with the task of reviving the fashion house for the Autumn/Winter 2018-19 season. Since then she has headed up two runway shows in Paris, the first of which was commended for having resurrected the label's codes, notably its oriental motifs, with great delicacy.

Poiret has not provided any details concerning the reason for the designer's surprise departure after only two runways, nor is there any news on whether or not the brand will be hosting a runway show next March.

While Yiqing Yin was chosen to define the brand's creative direction at the time of its relaunch, Belgian businesswoman Anne Chapelle took over as CEO, having previously led brands including Ann Demeulemeester and Haider Ackermann.

Poiret is no longer under the creative direction of Yiqing Yin

 

[Lola701]

What an odd and pointless idea it was to revive Poiret in the first place...
The same and exact thing is going to happen to Jean Patou by Henry.

Poiret can do perfumes... A niche brand of fragrances or jewelries.

 

[kasper!]

^Please no more Robert Piquet 2.0...just let these brands stay in glorious memory forever.

 

[tatouejeremie]

What an odd and pointless idea it was to revive Poiret in the first place...
The same and exact thing is going to happen to Jean Patou by Henry.

Poiret can do perfumes... A niche brand of fragrances or jewelries.

did you ever watch the interview with anne chappelle on showstudio? someone with her experience should've known this was never going to work out with yiqing ying as a creative director. she was being heralded as the saviour of independent fashion but are the brands she's worked at really doing well?

 

[Lola701]

I saw it and it didn’t made sense for me that someone like her would believe in reviving an old glory.
She just wanted a piece of the pie. The only old brand that has the potential to do great things was Vionnet under Pagliangula.
The brands she used to work for are not doing bad so in a way, it’s a success. But obviously, she had bigger ambitions for Poiret.

If a brand like Lanvin could be in the state it is today, how can someone believe that in 2018, you just have to revive an old name nobody cares about (in terms of relevance for today) to make money.

 

[fashionista-ta]

What an odd and pointless idea it was to revive Poiret in the first place...
The same and exact thing is going to happen to Jean Patou by Henry.

Poiret can do perfumes... A niche brand of fragrances or jewelries.

Interiors would make sense too ... and I think it's also being done? Seems like I saw something in a design magazine about his fabrics being produced ...

Poiret was such a genius. Does anyone else remember that Cavalli collection some years ago that was Poiret-inspired? I'm not sure who really designed it, but whoever it was could carry the revival now IMO.

 

[Lola701]

^^
Yes i remember that collection. FW06...
Galliano did Poiret wonderfully too.
But it was another era. It was about glamour, opulence...
Women dressed differently and eveningwear was much more important for fashion houses than it is today.

In 2006, a revival of Poiret could have been credible. Balmain was revived at that time with the idea of doing only eveningwear. The house was a little structure (they weren’t actually prepared for the success) but it worked.

It’s very difficult to create a connection with a brand and customers today. Everybody is copying each other formula.

And now that executives sees that you can create strong businesses while selling almost only clothes (Rick Owens, Dries, Alaia, Versace...etc), that even Couture and high prices is not even an obstacle anymore...Everybody wants to jump in!

They will sure try harder to make it work. The best solution is to do Demi Couture. 2 collections a year during the Couture weeks. A line of exclusive perfume, bijoux and maybe exclusive evening bags. Sophia Kokosalaki could be great for it. But they needs to take their time and not expect a smash hit after 2 seasons.

 

[rip_ian curtis]

That designer was a weird choice to head Poiret, and the collections were a mess. I think it could be a relevant brand if done right in the right segment. I heard Patrick van Ommeslaeghe worked in her team and I think he should be heading the whole thing. He has a modern Poiret sensibility and he's great at doing dresses.

 

[tatouejeremie]

That designer was a weird choice to head Poiret, and the collections were a mess. I think it could be a relevant brand if done right in the right segment. I heard Patrick van Ommeslaeghe worked in her team and I think he should be heading the whole thing. He has a modern Poiret sensibility and he's great at doing dresses.

i hope he will!
wasn't he basically responsible for everything that was good about raf's jil sander? and he also worked with jw anderson on his first loewe show, which was great.

 

[entten]

it would work if you have the right creative for this house....someone respecting poirets work. and with a clear vision and design aesthetic. and therefore I also think Ann Chapelle is the wrong person for this.....she chose yin because she has the same aesthetics that Ann is into....I mean the first collection was totally Haider Ann Antwerp style just with the name poiret on it. its so totally wrong for the house of poiret to take on this kind of design direction.

 

[Benn98]

I think Yin is a talented designer. She may not be suited to Poiret, but I like her aesthetic and I'm sure if it could be marketed on its own, her brand of creativity would be a success. The spring collection was steamed ahead with maturity, some breeziness, and great silhouettes. Something that's sort of missing in the hf scene. Because the industry considers anything too mature in direction to be out of touch or commercial. It's all about fanny packs and streetsyle elements, but with a luxury twist. I don't even understand why anyone would want to unearth Poiret? How could Poiret be relevant to a 2018 wardrobe when the trends du jour harks back to the late 80s and 90s? Not only that, I wonder how many consumers instantly knew what Poiret stood for without having to look it up on Google. Not many, I think.

 

[Mathewthew]

I just saw there's a profile on Linkedin said that they are the design directors consulting on Lanvin since 2018 Oct. Do we have any news about LANVIN yet ?

 

[dodencebt]

I just saw there's a profile on Linkedin said that they are the design directors consulting on Lanvin since 2018 Oct. Do we have any news about LANVIN yet ?

Bruno Sialelli is said to have signed a contract to head womenswear at Lanvin, but there hasn't been an official announcement yet.

 

[Mathewthew]

A New Designer Is Named to Reinvent Lanvin

21, Jan 2019 By Vanessa Friedman

Bruno Sialelli, a 31-year-old unknown, is taking on the troubled French brand for its new owner, Fosun International.

The restructuring of Lanvin, the oldest French fashion house in continuous existence and one built on the premise of classic femininity and strength, is finally complete.

On Monday, the brand’s new owner, the Chinese conglomerate Fosun International, and its new chief executive, Jean-Philippe Hecquet, named their new creative director: Bruno Sialelli, a relative unknown from Loewe, the Spanish house, whose most recent job had been in men’s wear. He will be Lanvin’s fourth designer in four years.

gender-fluid present as opposed to the romanticized past, one in which the traditional distinctions between wardrobes are erased (and one that is in line with the exceptionally successful reinventions of brands such as Gucci). And they are doing so by eschewing a star designer in favor of a new name.

Mr. Sialelli’s “singular and very personal vision, his audacity, his culture, his energy and ability to build a strong creative team definitely convinced us,” Mr. Hecquet said in the announcement. He was in China and not available for further comment.

Mr. Elbaz was fired in 2015; he was replaced the next year by Bouchra Jarrar, who lasted only 16 months before also coming into conflict with management. Her successor, Olivier Lapidus, made it half as long.
Though Lanvin men’s wear was overseen for 14 years by Lucas Ossendrijver (who left last November), the house had been largely defined by Mr. Elbaz’s women’s wear, and the result of the chaos after his dismissal was an almost total loss of identity. By the time Fosun bought the company early last year, it was seen as an example of how quickly brand equity and reputation could be destroyed, rather than as a heritage jewel. (The label was founded by Jeanne Lanvin in 1899.)

The one place its storied past did continue to have resonance, however, was in China. At the time of the sale, Joann Cheng, chairwoman of Fosun Fashion Group, said: “As China becomes the main growth driver of the global luxury market, we are confident that Fosun can bring great incremental value to Lanvin with our global resources and expertise, while being absolutely committed to Lanvin’s high luxury positioning.”

Fosun owns the Italian men’s wear brand Caruso, the Austrian hosiery brand Wolford and the American knitwear company St. John, but it had never taken on a turnaround as high-profile as Lanvin. As the Chinese increasingly want to be not just consumers of luxury goods but owners of the brands themselves — with dreams of creating groups to rival the European behemoths Kering and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton — how Fosun handles Lanvin will be a test case of whether they can compete.

Daniel Lee, another youthful unknown making his debut at Bottega Veneta in February.


A New Designer Is Named to Reinvent Lanvin

nytimes.com

 

[Scotty]

Good luck. But I feel like Lanvin is taking the Ungaro route now. RIP!