Lanvin (company)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Lanvin company logo
Lanvin Boutique in Monte Carlo (2008)

Lanvin or Jeanne Lanvin SA is a French fashion company founded in Paris in 1889 by the fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin . It is the oldest continuously and still existent, French couture - fashion house . Lanvin celebrated its 130th anniversary in 2019.

Under the Lanvin brand , high-priced prêt-à-porter fashion, accessories and perfumes , both for men and women, as well as children's clothing are sold worldwide through its own network of boutiques and upscale retailers . Between 1909 and 1993 Lanvin also offered haute couture fashion for women in the top price segment. As of 2001, the majority of Jeanne Lanvin SA was owned by a Taiwanese media entrepreneur. In 2018, the Chinese Fosun group took over the majority of the shares. From the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s, Lanvin worked with the then creative director Alber Elbaz internationally as one of the leading fashion brands, both in upscale women's and men's fashion.

Company history

Madame Lanvin

Lanvin model (1915)
Lanvin boutique in Ginza , Tokyo (2006)

The trained hat maker and milliner Jeanne Lanvin (Jeanne-Marie Lanvin, 1867–1946) opened her own hat shop in 1889 at number 22 of the elegant Parisian fashion street Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré , where the Lanvin flagship store is still located today. As early as 1901, Lanvin created the first step in the field of upscale men's fashion for the theater writer Edmond Rostand, whose richly embroidered gala uniform for the Académie française . Académie gowns for Paul Valéry , Georges Duhamel and André Maurois would follow in the course of their careers . The hats of the early days were initially joined by playful girls' dresses, from 1908 a separate department for exclusive children's clothing and, with steadily increasing demand from 1909, after the house became a member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture (Parisian fashion association), also high-priced skins -Couture fashion for women. The youthful, ladylike designs, in cheerful colors and made of fine fabrics, often combined with refined embroidery, as well as the exclusive girls' clothing still on offer, met with great approval in better Parisian society. While other important French fashion designers, such as Jean Patou or Coco Chanel , propagated clear and minimalist-elegant, sometimes masculine fashion for women from the 1910s onwards, Lanvin continued to offer its customers romantic and playful models with long dresses ( robe de style ) and flowing skirts that were decorated, for example, with satin ribbons, ruffles , taffeta or tulle ornaments or floral patterns (preferably daisies because Marguerite was the first name of Jeanne Lanvin's daughter). Lanvin's bridal fashion was first introduced in 1911. Lanvin set up a fur studio in 1913 . In the home textiles and home furnishings sector, the Lanvin Décoration division was added from 1920 in collaboration with the French interior designer Armand-Albert Rateau (1882–1938) . For this purpose, a separate shop was opened on the opposite side of the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré at number 15, which today serves as a Lanvin boutique for men's fashion.

In 1923 an own dye works was opened in Nanterre in order to be able to dye the fabrics himself. The so-called “Lanvin blue” ( lilac blue) and “Polignac pink” (Jeanne Lanvin's daughter had married Count Jean de Polignac in 1925) are still typical of the company today . In 1923 the second line Lanvin Sport was launched with exclusive leisure clothing. 1924 presented the newly established Lanvin perfumes the women's fragrance Mon Pèche / My Sin (set in 1988) and should number the following year fragrances for men, bringing it under the name Lanvin on the market. In 1925, Lanvin had 800 employees. In 1926 the couture men's collection was launched with Lanvin Tailleur-Chemisier and Lanvin's nephew Maurice Lanvin took over the management of the store at number 15. The expansion progressed so rapidly that departments for perfumes , for men’s and for sporty women’s clothing could be set up. The 1927, two years after the Chanel - Bestsellers Nº 5 , launched Women's Perfume 'Arpège' (similar to the piano playing of Jeanne Lanvin's daughter) is a classic in the perfume world and to date available. One of Jeanne Lanvin's customers and friends was Marlene Dietrich .

Lanvin logo by Paul Iribe (ca.1927)

The extended Lanvin logo symbolizes Jeanne Lanvin's great love for her daughter to this day and shows a stylized mother in a flowing robe, shaking hands with her little daughter. The logo is based on a photograph from 1907 showing Jeanne Lanvin with her daughter at a fancy dress ball. This Art Nouveau picture was designed in 1927 as a flacon painting for the Arpège fragrance by the French Art Nouveau illustrator Paul Iribe (1883–1935) and later slightly modified by Armand Albert Rateau for the flacon of the Arpège fragrance.

Successor years

After Jeanne Lanvin's death in 1946, numerous designers created fashion for Lanvin over the years , including her daughter Marie-Blanche (from 1946 to 1950), who owned the company until her death in 1958, and the avant-garde designer Claude Montana (from 1990 to 1992), see below. With Maryll Lanvin, a family member designed the collections until 1989. Giorgio Armani had turned down a design offer from Lanvin in 1989 to focus on his own fashion brand.

The owners of the Lanvin house also changed several times over the years. The company remained in extended family ownership until the late 1980s. Since Marie-Blanche had no children, the company passed in 1958 to her cousin Yves Lanvin (1901–1990) and his wife Lucie, who was responsible for the couture division. In 1972, the ready-to- wear men's fashion was launched at Lanvin, which was divided into the lines Traditionnel , Studio and Sport . From 1980, Yves' son Bernard Lanvin (* 1935) - great- nephew of Jeanne Lanvin - ran the company with his wife Maryll (née Orsini). In early 1989, Bernard sold 34% of the troubled company to London's Midland Bank . In the middle of the same year the bank increased its stake to 40% and persuaded Maryll Lanvin to step down as a designer. Her designs were described as "pretty but inconspicuous". Her successor was Claude Montana, albeit with little success. As of late 1989, Midland Bank held 95% of the shares in Lanvin.

In 1990 Orcofi SA, a group controlled by the Louis Vuitton family, took over all Midland Bank (95%) shares in the heavily indebted company Lanvin for 500 million francs (approx. 80 million euros). The deal came about through an agreement between Orcofi and cosmetics manufacturer L'Oréal , which co-financed the acquisition of Lanvin. In 1988 Lanvin reported a loss of 100 million francs. In 1992 the annual loss was 70 million francs, in 1993 it was 135 million francs. Until 1996, L'Oréal bought all of Orcofi's shares in stages. In 1993 Lanvin gave up the haute couture division of the house. Lanvin consisted largely of the perfume business and licenses, the moderately successful prêt-à-porter division - at that time mainly known in the men's sector for ties and shirts in duty free sales - was made by L'Oréal with the brands Lanvin Classique and Lanvin Studio only gradually revived in the late 1990s. In 1999, a Lanvin boutique for men was opened in Munich's Maximilianstrasse (closed in the early 2000s).

New start from 2001

Typical packaging in Lanvin blue from the mid-2000s (2012)

From 2001 Lanvin belonged to a group of investors around the Harmonie SA of the Taiwanese media entrepreneur Shaw-Lan Wang, after L'Oréal wanted to concentrate on its own core competencies . As a result, Wang paid off the remaining shareholders and completely took over “the couture label, which had been a little dusty for years” in 2003.

With the revival of French couture houses from the end of the 1990s (including Balenciaga , Balmain and Vionnet ), Lanvin has been one of the most influential brands in today's upscale fashion market since 2003, and in the men's clothing segment since 2006 at the latest. In 2001, Israeli Alber Elbaz , a former womenswear designer for Guy Laroche (1996-1998) and Yves Saint Laurent (1998-2000), was hired by Wang as artistic director and designer of Lanvin's womenswear line. His first collection for the 2002/2003 season was praised by the trade press, celebrated by buyers and enthusiastically received by customers. He made a name for himself at Lanvin with elegant, refined, feminine dresses , especially cocktail dresses , in a wide range of colors. As a result, Lanvin sales had quadrupled under Elbaz by the mid-2000s. From 2005 to 2007 alone, sales rose by 60%. In 2005 Elbaz received the International Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America for his work at Lanvin. The men's collection was designed from 2006, under Elbaz's direction as creative director, by the Dutchman Lucas Ossendrijver, who had previously worked for Kenzo , Kostas Murkudis and Dior Homme . In 2011, the Lanvin Petite children's collection was presented.

In 2006, the packaging material in the Lanvin boutiques (shopping bags, cardboard boxes, garment bags, etc.) was redesigned under Elbaz's direction in the typical Lanvin blue. In 2007 the perfume division of the house was sold to the French company Inter Parfums . It was not until 2007 before the Lanvin brand began to make profits again after years of losses - for example due to failed perfume launches.

In 2009 Lanvin celebrated its 120th anniversary. In the same year, the German businessman Ralph Bartel, founder and former owner of Travelzoo (1998-2008), took a 12.5% ​​stake in Lanvin, which he increased to 25% in 2012. The remaining 75% is owned by Shaw-Lan Wang. However, it is speculated that Elbaz also holds 10% of the shares in Lanvin. In November 2010, a one-time cooperation with the fashion chain H&M was presented in the form of a low-priced women's, men's and accessories collection. The flagship stores, which opened at the beginning of Jeanne Lanvin's career, are still today at 22, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré (women's boutique) and opposite at number 15 (men's boutique). In 2012 there was a total of 32 in Paris, St. Tropez , London, Athens , Geneva , Monte Carlo , Italy , Marbella , Warsaw and Ankara as well as in Morocco , Russia , Asia , the Middle East and the USA , partly through partners operated Lanvin boutiques, but none in Germany or Austria . In 2012, Lanvin supplied around 400 specialist dealers worldwide through retail outlets.

In 2005 Lanvin's turnover was 67 million euros, in 2007 it was 108.6 million euros. In 2008 sales amounted to EUR 140.4 million with an operating profit of EUR 6.7 million. In 2009, 128 million euros were achieved and in 2010 a turnover of 164 million euros was achieved. In the 2011 financial year, Lanvin reported sales of EUR 203 million. The Jeanne Lanvin SA is a subsidiary of Arpège SAS 2006 continued the Lanvin registered owner Wang the Belgian Paul Denève, formerly head of brand Nina Ricci , as managing director of Lanvin one. Denève was followed in 2009 by Thierry Andretta, who had previously worked for Céline , the Gucci Group and Moschino in a management position. Andretta was replaced by his deputy, Michèle Huiban, in the spring of 2013.

Lanvin's sales for the 2011 financial year increased by 24% to EUR 203 million compared to the previous year. In 2012, with a turnover of 236 million euros, a profit of almost 14 million euros was achieved, which in a four-year comparison almost doubled the annual turnover (2009: 120 million euros).

In late 2013, Lanvin announced that it would be the official outfitter for Arsenal London's players, coaches and officials for at least the next two seasons up to 2015 . Lanvin designed complete men's outfits for Arsenal under the direction of Lucas Ossendrijver.

Turning point

At the end of October 2015, Lanvin announced that Alber Elbaz was leaving the house after 14 years. Elbaz himself justified his departure with " a decision by the majority shareholder " Shaw-Lan Wang. The company's sales had stagnated from 2013 and amounted to around 206 million euros in 2014. For 2015, a profit of 6.3 million euros was achieved on sales of 210 million euros. In the following year, sales dropped to 162 million euros and a loss of 18.3 million euros was recorded.

In mid-March 2016, Lanvin announced that the Moroccan- born designer Bouchra Jarrar from Paris would take over responsibility for Lanvin women's collections. Jarrar - previously a designer for Jean Paul Gaultier , Balenciaga and Christian Lacroix - launched her own fashion brand, which she hired for Lanvin, in 2010, and from 2013 also designed haute couture fashion. Jarrar propagated a more minimalist, stricter line than her predecessor Elbaz and left the Lanvin fashion house in mid-2017. At the beginning of July 2017, Lanvin appointed the French fashion designer Olivier Lapidus, son of Ted Lapidus , as the new women's fashion designer and Lanvin creative director. Lapidus brought bold colors and 1980s-inspired models to the catwalk.

At the end of February 2018, after a bidding war with Mayhoola from Qatar , owners of Valentino and Balmain , the Chinese Fosun Group acquired the majority of Lanvin's shares from the previous shareholders Wang and Bartels, who remained minority shareholders. Part of the agreement was an investment of 100 million euros from Fosun. At the end of March 2018, Fosun announced that Olivier Lapidus would leave the house and that an in-house creative team would temporarily design the Lanvin women's collection. Lucas Ossendrijver left Lanvin in November 2018.

In mid-January 2019, Lanvin appointed the French Bruno Sialelli, whose previous employers include Loewe , Paco Rabanne , Acne Studios and Balenciaga , as the new creative director of the women's and men's collections. Its first Lanvin collection, which contained numerous different styles, was presented at the end of February 2019.

Lanvin in Japan

Lanvin brands reserved for the Japanese market

For the Japanese market, Japanese companies have held the rights to the Lanvin name since the late 1990s . Lanvin had sold the rights to the world's second largest luxury market as licenses . Since the license acquisition - originally by Kanebo Ltd. and from 2002 by Itochu , which also has a 5% stake in Lanvin - in addition to the imported Parisian main collection for women and men, there is also the bridge collection Lanvin Collection , also for women and men. In addition, the youthful second line Lanvin en Bleu , developed by Itochu, was launched in 2004 exclusively for the Japanese market, initially for men (manufactured by Joi'X Corporation ), and from 2010 also for women (manufactured by Raika Co., Ltd. ). Furthermore, the Japanese sportswear manufacturer Descente Ltd. in Japan the sporty Lanvin Sport collection. In 2007, licensing partners in Japan posted sales of the Lanvin brand to an estimated $ 280 million, more than Lanvin's revenue in the rest of the world (€ 96 million).

Fashion designer at Lanvin

  • 1909 Jeanne Lanvin
  • 1946 Marie-Blanche de Polignac (née Lanvin, daughter of Jeanne Lanvin)
  • 1950–1963 Antonio Canovas Del Castillo (women's lines)
  • 1960 Bernard Devaux
  • 1964 Jules-François Crahay (Haute Couture collections)
  • 1972 Christian Benais (start of men's clothing)
  • 1976 Patrick Lavoix (men's collection)
  • 1981 Maryll Lanvin (wife of Jeanne Lanvin's great-nephew, prêt-à-porter and haute couture 1985–1989)
  • 1989 Robert Nelissen (Prêt-à-Porter women)
  • 1990–1992 Eric Bergere (Prêt-à-Porter women)
  • 1990 Claude Montana ( Haute Couture collections, ended in 1992)
  • 1992 Dominique Morlotti (women's and men's clothing)
  • 1996 Ocimar Versolato (Prêt-à-Porter women)
  • 1997 Cristina Ortiz (Prêt-à-Porter women)
  • 2001–2015 Alber Elbaz (creative director, women's collection)
  • 2001 Christophe Blondin-Pechabrier (men's collection)
  • 2003 Martin Krutzki (men's collection)
  • 2006–2018 Lucas Ossendrijver (men's collection)
  • 2016–2017 Bouchra Jarrar (women's collection)
  • 2017-2018 Olivier Lapidus
  • since 2019 Bruno Sialelli (creative director, women's and men's collections)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Loden von Lanvin , zeit.de, July 13, 1973
  2. ↑ Alber Elbaz , zeit.de, September 3, 2010
  3. ↑ Alber Elbaz, Lanvin is crazy about him! ( Memento of the original from November 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , paris-lifestyle.de, accessed: December 23, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.paris-lifestyle.de
  4. ↑ Alber Elbaz: 'I hate the word cool' , independent.co.uk, May 12, 2012
  5. ↑ Land of dreams , guardian.co.uk, October 2, 2004
  6. ↑ Paris Goes Wild For Lanvin's Alber Elbaz's Latest Confections , Associated Press via edgeonthenet.com, October 2, 2010
  7. ↑ Elegance and sophistication - Lanvin . In: Elle , accessed September 2, 2010
  8. ↑ Lanvin Arpège - a classic turns 80 years old . ( Memento of the original from March 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. paulvital.de, September 22, 2007 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.paulvital.de
  9. ↑ Dominique = Marlene - 20 . In: Der Spiegel . No. 15 , 1949 ( online ).
  10. ^ Giorgio Armani Press Release: "1989: Giorgio Armani declines offer by maison JEANNE LANVIN." Giorgioarmani.com, accessed: December 10, 2011
  11. ↑ Yves Lanvin  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at Patrons de France@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.patronsdefrance.fr  
  12. ↑ The Heir to the House of Lanvin Married a Model Who's Now a Designing Wife people.com, May 17, 1982
  13. ↑ a b Naughty nineties . In: Der Spiegel . No. 5 , 1990 ( online ).
  14. ↑ Patterns: A Lanvin departs . In: The New York Times , May 30, 1989
  15. ^ Vuitton Family to Buy Lanvin Couture House , latimes.com, February 16, 1990
  16. ↑ Vuitton family purchase Lanvin ( Memento of the original from January 20, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Cosmetics International via highbeam.com, March 10, 1990 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / business.highbeam.com
  17. ↑ Henri Racamier jette le gant du luxe. Sa filiale Lanvin devrait être vendue à L'Oréal et le holding Orcofi à Axa , liberation.fr, 19 August 1995
  18. ↑ Henri Racamier jette le gant du luxe. Sa filiale Lanvin devrait être vendue à L'Oréal et le holding Orcofi à Axa , Liberation (French), 19 August 1995
  19. ↑ Lanvin returns to fashion  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Textile Industry, February 1, 1999@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.textilwirtschaft.de  
  20. ↑ Lanvin is testing the German market  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Textile Industry, May 25, 1999@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.textilwirtschaft.de  
  21. ↑ Back to couture . In: Die Zeit , No. 39/2007
  22. ^ L'Oréal plans to sell Lanvin , loreal-finance.com, July 12, 2001
  23. ^ Couture for everyone , schweizer-illustrierte.ch, November 17, 2010
  24. ↑ Lanvin - Handfest playful . In: FAZ , July 1, 2008
  25. ↑ What can I design besides fashion?  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Textile Industry, December 28, 2006@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.textilwirtschaft.de  
  26. ↑ Who is who - Alber Elbaz ( Memento of the original from June 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , British Vogue, August 16, 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vogue.co.uk
  27. ^ Ingrid Loschek : fashion designer . 2002 (via Google Books) p. 130 ff.
  28. ^ "I wish I knew how to enjoy it more" , guardian.co.uk, May 17, 2009
  29. ^ "I wish I knew how to enjoy it more" , guardian.co.uk, May 17, 2009
  30. ↑ Men of the world are wearing Cerruti and Lanvin this summer ( Memento of the original from May 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , az.ch, May 25, 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.az.ch
  31. ↑ Meet Lucas Ossendrijver , New York Times T Magazine, January 21, 2008
  32. ↑ Fashion icon Lanvin in stake sale talks , Reuters, September 29, 2008
  33. ↑ Lanvin Stamp-Ede ... , wwd.com, December 2, 2009
  34. ↑ Lanvin for H&M , Deutsche Vogue, September 2, 2010
  35. ↑ Loden from Lanvin . In: Die Zeit , No. 29/1973
  36. ↑ Lanvin has a new investor , Textilwirtschaft, November 19, 2009
  37. ↑ 24 percent more sales for Lanvin , textil-revue.ch, accessed: December 15, 2012
  38. ↑ Elbaz leaves fashion label Lanvin, Wang rejected offers reuters.com, October 28, 2015
  39. ↑ Lanvin MD resigns after strategy disagreement , fashionmag.com, April 14, 2013
  40. ↑ Ralph Bartel doubles its stake in Lanvin ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , textilwirtschaft.de, January 24, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.textilwirtschaft.de
  41. ↑ Booted and now suited: Arsenal announce 'official tailor' deal with Lanvin fashion house , telegraph.co.uk, November 21, 2013
  42. ↑ Why are Raf Simons and Alber Elbaz leaving their Dior and Lanvin labels? , welt.de, November 2, 2015
  43. ↑ Alber Elbaz leaves Lanvin in a dispute , faz.net, October 28, 2015
  44. ↑ Bouchra Jarrar, Artistic Director at Lanvin, Is Out After 16 Months nytimes.com, July 6, 2017
  45. ↑ Change of designer: Bouchra Jarrar becomes creative director of Lanvin ( Memento of the original from March 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , vogue.de, March 12, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vogue.de
  46. ↑ Bouchra Jarrar leaves Lanvin - That was an all too short guest appearance nzz.ch, July 6, 2017
  47. ↑ Olivier Lapidus becomes creative director of Lanvin vogue.de, July 11, 2017
  48. ↑ Lanvin: Olivier Lapidus succeeds Bouchra Jarrar fashionunited.de, July 11, 2017
  49. ↑ Chinese take over luxury fashion house Lanvin handelsblatt.com, February 22, 2018
  50. ↑ Fosun Triumphs in Bidding War for Lanvin, Troubled Fashion House nytimes.com, February 22, 2018
  51. ↑ Lucas Ossendrijver leaves Lanvin lofficiel.ch, November 16, 2018
  52. ↑ Lanvin Names Bruno Sialelli as Creative Director vogue.com, January 21, 2019
  53. ↑ Lanvin RTW Fall 2019 wwd.com, February 27, 2019
  54. ^ Fashion's New Patrons Struggle for Right Fit , Wall Street Journal, February 29, 2008
  55. ^ Business Alliance With Jeanne Lanvin SA , Computer Business Alliance, January 20, 2002
  56. ^ Lanvin cuts a new dash . In: Japan Times , August 15, 2004
  57. ↑ Lanvin, Spade Grow Japan Presence ( Memento of the original from May 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF) WWD, May 11, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wwd.com
  58. ↑ Fashion icon Lanvin in stake sale talks , FashionMag.com, September 29, 2008