The Cult of The Designer Who Transcends The Brand

Upon hearing the news that Bouchra Jarrar was out at Lanvin, and Olivier Lapidus had been signed, many in the fashion world sighed at the reopening of an old wound. The widespread feeling that the company is flogging a dead horse and hoping it will still pull the weight of management’s series of tone-deaf, misguided decisions can be felt in articles such as “Can Anyone Save Lanvin now?” recently published in The Business of Fashion. Popular opinion is there can be no replacement for Alber Elbaz, the beloved creative director who, after fourteen years, was ignominiously fired in 2015. It was the fashion equivalent of the Brangelina divorce, and in the aftermath of ugly accusations, court cases, and crying atelier staff, property was divided. Lanvin naturally got to keep the house and its contents. Elbaz got us.