“After a number of years of, let’s say, dynamism and even volatility in the brand, we are now really preparing it for the future,” CEO Siddhartha Shukla said this morning during the Lanvin presentation. He didn’t mean the future That Future: Nevertheless, the musician’s capsule collection under the house’s new Lanvin Lab format (a multidisciplinary collaboration engine) was available to see (but not, strictly speaking, to photograph) ahead of its November launch. It was so hot that a Parisian fire safety official was on duty at all times.
Today, however, was about the main story, which, like the most recent resort outing, was shaped by those who remained on the Lanvin team after the departure of the most recent creative director. Under Shukla’s new three-pronged strategy, that main line – which will also have a new chief designer by Christmas – will take center stage. Flanked there will be Lanvin Lab collaborations, announced and dropped episodically, and the all-important new accessories vertical category: semi-decoupling this from the fortunes of the main collection certainly seems like a wise move.
As Karl Lagerfeld once noted of Jeanne Lanvin, “Her image was not as strong as Chanel’s because she was a nice old lady and not a fashion plate.” That enigmatic quality gave the house’s team the freedom to shape a sleek collection rooted in 1920s style, despite it being a period when Lanvin’s most revered cuts were themselves somewhat dated. There were some very impressive chain and pearl details that created a beautiful opalescence on dresses with fringes, pleats and cuffs. And there were hints of the medieval (a Lanvin 1.0 motif) in crossed necklines and keyhole heart necklines. In the lookbook, but not visible during the presentation, there was a concession to that volume in brightly colored tailoring.
A touch of masculine looks was less inflected in the 1920s (when the founder apparently became the first couturier in Paris to produce menswear) than the desire to give this season’s womenswear a 2020 look. The results included bootcut trousers and tailoring with low skirts and wide collars (so halfway between then and now), spiced up with sometimes coated guipure details and shared styling accents. Lanvin’s recent history and powerful origin story ensure it remains a wonderful but somewhat formless opportunity: with this presentation, it continued to gradually take shape.
