Awaiting the appointment of a new creative director, Lanvin leaned into its heritage for spring. And what heritage: The oldest fashion house in Paris, and synonymous with the 1920s and ’30s, sublime decades for fashion and design.
About a dozen looks comprised the showroom presentation, each outfit exalted in modernist boxes resting atop classic columns.
According to Siddhartha Shukla, deputy general manager of Lanvin, the goal was to exalt the capabilities of its design studio and atelier, hence the emphasis on delicately embroidered suits and evening dresses for women, and handsome tailoring for men, here and there with a shaggy floral embroidery at the breast pocket.
One felt a little bit of Alber Elbaz’s fine hand in the purposely frayed silk tank tops and the thin strips of silk lapping against the neck. The saturated colors were drawn from old Lanvin advertising by photographer Guy Bourdin.
Shukla described a process of decoding the archives for a “grammar that we could use to project the house into the future.”
The columnar silhouettes, fine fabrics and gentle colors certainly telegraphed luxury, and left the door open for the brand’s next creative expression.
“I think it’s less about the house being in transition and more about the house preparing itself for what is to come,” Shukla said.
Since the executive’s arrival, and Lanvin Group’s IPO, the brand has undergone a visual reset, and a comprehensive reset of its product strategy. Recent collections have hinged on a quieter form of chic, here only a touch louder.
