Lanvin Parts Ways with Olivier Lapidus

[Scotty]

Wish they would bring back Alber. His work is synonymous with Lanvin now for me. I can't imagine him anywhere else.

 

[fashionista-ta]

I suspect he has not yet recovered from the experience

 

[Benn98]

Life After the Runway

By Elizabeth Paton

• Sept. 24, 2018

Alber Elbaz

Most recently: Lanvin creative director, 2001-2015

Previously: creative director, Guy Laroche and Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche

“I think it is only normal that if one experiences massive change in their life they might want to disappear. To look and not always be looked at. You can’t always ‘enjoy the moment’ when you are at the top of a big brand. It’s always conference calls and meetings and constant work travel — you don’t have time to think and to dream.


“Since leaving Lanvin, I partnered with Sportsac on a handbag collaboration. I have also been traveling a lot on my own terms and focused on a particular question: Why are we at such a turning point in fashion? The street is now my catwalk. I have also thought a lot about how the industry works as whole: the online versus offline world, global versus local, print versus digital media and advertising. A big preoccupation has been: Does constant Googling and Instagramming make designers work differently? I think it does. I worry it makes designers lazier.

“I gave a lot of lectures, everywhere from Tsinghua University in China to master class work with students at Parsons in New York and Central Saint Martins in London. I love teaching. And I became fascinated with the technology sector. I went and met with many start-up leaders and entrepreneurs, particularly in Israel, almost entirely working on disrupting sectors outside fashion. I became almost like a researcher, interested in what creative types can learn from that space. And what they can learn from us. I have tried to take vacations. The truth is I don’t like the summer, or beaches, or boats. For me, a vacation feels like work.”

Source: Nytimes.com

 

[Benn98]

Lanvin Said in Talks With Bruno Sialelli for Creative Role

Sialelli recently exited Loewe, where he had worked since March 2016 and where he was most recently the brand's head of men's wear.

By WWD Staff on October 8, 2018

NEW FACE AT LANVIN?: Could Lanvin, said to be searching for new designer, have its eye on a hidden talent? According to sources, the French house is in talks with Bruno Sialelli, who recently exited Loewe, where he was head of men’s wear. The likelihood of the house and the designer securing an agreement could not immediately be learned. Lanvin could not immediately be reached for comment.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Sialelli had been at Loewe since March 2016. Before that, he held senior design roles in women’s wear at Paco Rabanne, Acne Studios and Balenciaga. He is a fashion graduate of Studio Berçot in Paris.

Finding a new design and management leadership has been job number one for Fosun International, which acquired the French luxury house in February.

WWD was the first to report in July that Lanvin had settled on Jean-Philippe Hecquet to become its next chief executive officer. Previously, he was head of fast-growing French fashion chain Sandro since 2014, and boasts more than 14 years of experience in various roles at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

In March, Lanvin parted ways with creative director Olivier Lapidus and general manager Nicolas Druz, sparking speculation about who might take on the daunting task of rebuilding the cash-strapped label.

The house has had a series of designers since dismissing creative director Alber Elbaz in October 2015. Bouchra Jarrar, his successor, left Lanvin after 16 months amid declining sales. Lapidus exited after only two seasons. The house’s design studios, whose members are believed to include former Ungaro alum Estrella Archs, prepared a spring 2019 collection for its boutiques and wholesale clients, but did not invite press to review the line during Paris Fashion Week.

Source: WWD.com

 

[Ed..]

Bruno who?

 

[tatouejeremie]

he's got a bit of weird resume but i guess these are the only sort of people willing to take these jobs

 

[dodencebt]

he's got a bit of weird resume but i guess these are the only sort of people willing to take these jobs

I think his resume makes a lot of sense. Balenciaga under Ghesquière for four years, diversifying his experience at Acne Studios and then a bit of Paco Rabanne under Dossena with whom he worked at Balenciaga. The Loewe gig is clearly a great mix of the kooky, non-precious luxury and sharp tailoring he learned at these three jobs because Loewe menswear has been a dream for me since Jonathan took over. I wish him the best if he does end up at Lanvin!

 

[tatouejeremie]

I think his resume makes a lot of sense. Balenciaga under Ghesquière for four years, diversifying his experience at Acne Studios and then a bit of Paco Rabanne under Dossena with whom he worked at Balenciaga. The Loewe gig is clearly a great mix of the kooky, non-precious luxury and sharp tailoring he learned at these three jobs because Loewe menswear has been a dream for me since Jonathan took over. I wish him the best if he does end up at Lanvin!

2 years for nicholas (of which 1 year of interning it sounds like) and 1,5 for wang
i agree loewe menswear is nice, although i think the product is either underwhelming or ridiculous.

i wonder if they'd put him on lanvin menswear as well

 

[fashionista-ta]

I want to say how little it makes sense to put a menswear designer at a brand so known for flou, but ... pffft, who cares.

 

[Mathewthew]

I want to say how little it makes sense to put a menswear designer at a brand so known for flou, but ... pffft, who cares.

Yeah, especially Lucas is doing a great job there. I always love his mens collection.
They need to find a head hunter to get the right person.
Skipping One season is quite bad for a brand.

 

[perfect blue]

I always think of Alber when I think of Lanvin. Those are big shoes to fill...

 

[Lola701]

If they are clever, they will go for a grown up, sophisticated thing...close to what Alber did. He did effortless sophistication...
Lanvin needs a strong personality. Every brand needs a strong voice.
In order for the voice to be heard, total creative control and total support from the executives is needed.

 

[Mathewthew]

If they are clever, they will go for a grown up, sophisticated thing...close to what Alber did. He did effortless sophistication...
Lanvin needs a strong personality. Every brand needs a strong voice.
In order for the voice to be heard, total creative control and total support from the executives is needed.

Actually I found out that they still have new SS19 collection, but only for showroom and buyers.
I found quite interesting since the new collection has a bit of Elbaz's influence.
I hope they find a right person to keep the brand going~

 

[fashionista-ta]

Maybe they should close the doors for awhile ...

 

[Benn98]

#PrestigeTalks with Lanvin’s Creative Director Bruno Sialelli

After a particularly turbulent few years, Lanvin has enlisted Bruno Sialelli to lead the charge for the French fashion label’s lines in both womenswear and menswear. melissa twigg meets the designer to find out how he plans to bring the label back to peace and prosperity.

In a ripped canary-yellow shirt with ruler-sized strips torn out of it, bulbous rings on each finger and scuffed trainers on his feet, Bruno Sialelli looks like the aesthetic opposite of the eveningwear-focused Parisian maison he’s been tasked with saving. Aged just 31, this previously unknown designer took the reins of Lanvin earlier this year and now oversees both the womenswear and menswear collections for the storied brand.

We meet in Lanvin’s plush showroom on Rue de Boissy d’Anglas in Paris, steps away from the old-world grandeur of Place de la Concorde, the Hotel Crillon and the archives where Jeanne Lanvin once worked. Sialelli is dressed for the ultra-hip districts in the north and east of the city rather than these expensive surroundings. But the moment he starts speaking in his heavily accented, almost poetic English, it becomes clear that he not only carries the weight of his new role comfortably, but relishes the task ahead.

“Being young is an asset,” he says. “It brings you optimism and an open mindset – I don’t think you should ever be rigid in your creativity, as creativity means being experimental and taking new directions. To be honest, I think the brand needed to become a bit younger. It was important for me to connect with my generation and move away from the stereotype that Lanvin is all about formal eveningwear.”

Under Sialelli, Lanvin is emerging from the most difficult time in its 130-year history. In a series of events that might leave even the characters of Game of Thrones perturbed, we saw Alber Elbaz leave acrimoniously in 2015 after 14 years at the helm. Bouchra Jarrar came next, but resigned after 16 months, and her successor, Olivier Lapidus, lasted half that time. Lucas Ossendrijver, who headed up the menswear division for 14 years, left last November – and not of his own free will.

Enter Sialelli, the trainer-clad guardian angel from Marseilles on whom everyone’s pinning their hopes. Previously in the men’s division at Loewe, his career is impressive for one so recently out of their 20s, with a CV that includes Acne Studios, Paco Rabanne and Balenciaga. And while taking over a famous but flailing brand is the kind of make-or-break career move that would have most people dialling their therapist, Sialelli seems remarkably sanguine.

“The challenge is big, of course – that’s what everyone thinks, it’s factual, so I’m happy to say it,” he says. “My task is to recontextualise this entire house, taking into account the very difficult last four years. Nobody around me is putting more pressure on myself than myself, but the pressure is very positive, and I’m calm. I mostly feel excited about what I can do. It’s fair to say that over the last four years this house stagnated and waited to be reinserted in the game. That’s what I’m here for.”

His confidence isn’t misplaced. The response to his ready-to-wear women’s collection in February and his menswear in June have both been overwhelmingly positive, with critics applauding the way he intertwined the life and travels of Jeanne Lanvin with a modern-luxe aesthetic.

The womenswear collection included wool jackets with sailor collars and leather ties, double-hemmed kilts in mismatched checks, checked blanket ponchos, uni-gender jumpers and minidresses, and shirts featuring Babar the elephant – a cartoon character much loved by Lanvin herself.

In the menswear collection, we saw tapestry-like knitwear and beaded embellishment that also referenced Jeanne Lanvin’s work. Like many people of his generation, Sialelli is breaking down strict divides between menswear and womenswear: models of both genders have walked in all his collections and fronted all his campaigns to date.

“Gender isn’t at the forefront of my thinking,” he says. “My focus is on the DNA of the brand and the meeting between me and the house. Gender fluidity is a fact. Personally, I don’t ask myself the question, ‘Is this for men or women?’ I often wear pieces from womenswear. Everyone around me dresses this way, it’s the modern way.”

Which proves that while the exact direction of the brand still hasn’t been fully established, Sialelli has injected a major dose of youthful cool and sex appeal back into the maison. Does he believe he’s made Lanvin – a brand that lost its way for a dangerously long time – relevant again?

“Relevance? Who can possibly define that?” he replies, with a particularly heavy Gallic shrug. “It takes decades to post-rationalise what’s been done and decide if it’s been relevant. What sounds relevant now can be really disgusting in a closer or longer timeline. But I feel my work so far has been understood, which is very encouraging.”

And with that, he kisses me goodbye and walks out into a white-hot midsummer afternoon in Paris, the strips of his canary-yellow shirt fluttering in the hot wind. Lanvin’s relevance, branding and future stability are all resting in the hands of this immensely talented millennial; what exactly he does with that power will be worth paying attention to.

Prestige Online

 

[Lola701]

I don’t know if it’s because Lanvin’s sales were such an event in Paris and ultimately, a lot of women here (myself included) bought them during those sales...But I find the new Lanvin very expensive. It’s cute but I don’t think his offering justify those kind of prices...

Lanvin might have been very formal under Alber but people bought it! Why? Because besides being an amazing designer, he had an eye for fabrics and execution. I don’t think any other designer has used silk and satin that much in his career...

The was something in the cut, in the washing, in the colors that made those precious fabrics almost casual. That was the sophistication of his clothes. Satin, Gazar or silk weren’t really fabrics that women wore for daywear...Even less as dresses. But Alber made it possible. A Silk dress with a Gros-grain belt was totally believable. Alber elevated everything! Even when he did t-shirts and denim, it looked elevated!

I think the market lacks in this kind of offering.
He needs to go deeper in the exploration of Lanvin because his latest show didn’t showed any interest in the house.

 

[bc collector]

The response to his ready-to-wear women’s collection in February and his menswear in June have both been overwhelmingly positive, with critics applauding the way he intertwined the life and travels of Jeanne Lanvin with a modern-luxe aesthetic.

I wonder which critics did this "journalist" actually look at...

 

[tatouejeremie]

I wonder which critics did this "journalist" actually look at...

exactly, no-one cares about his lanvin. i'm surprised he sounds so laidback in this interview.
but at the same time i doubt he's going to get fired anytime soon as one of their goals is probably to build up some internal stability at the company.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ That should be a goal, but is it?

I couldn't bring myself to read the piece after catching a glimpse of 'Being young is an asset ...' At least I don't need to ask, Who says that? because now I know.

 

[Lola701]

^ That should be a goal, but is it?

I couldn't bring myself to read the piece after catching a glimpse of 'Being young is an asset ...' At least I don't need to ask, Who says that? because now I know.

That sounds so Naive don’t you think!?
He really sounds dumb...Like an IG influencer doing a capsule collection or a student.
He will learn sooner or later that being young isn’t always an asset.