>> Lanvin announced today that an anonymous European family holding company took a 12.5 percent stake in the company, ending a long quest by majority owner Shaw-Lan Wang to take the brand to the next level. The investment — thought to be on the order of about $37 million — is understand to be longterm, so don't expect the brand to change hands any time soon; LVMH's Bernard Arnault has been interested in recent years, but Wang is unwilling to give up majority control as Arnault would require.
“The company is really healthy. We only need to accelerate,” Lanvin EVP Thierry Andretta told WWD of the move. “We will be looking worldwide for great opportunities.” It is expected that the capital will help expand Lanvin's retail network, and if more funds are needed, the anonymous investor has the ability to inject more while still maintaining a minority share.
Lanvin
Lanvin Gets Cash Money; Alber Elbaz Is "Really Scared of Bloggers"
Alber Elbaz Serves Up Cocktails and Cocktail Dresses for Spring 2010
>> Spring 2010 is a party for Alber Elbaz: tables were erected in the middle of the runway pre-show, with bow-tied waiters offering up puff pastries and fruity frozen cocktails with umbrellas as salsa music played in the background. Lanvin paper fans were placed on every seat.
With a neon chandelier as backdrop, Elbaz, who just recently returned from Argentina, served up jumpsuits and colorful pouf cocktail dresses — some accessorized with one glove. The collection, Elbaz said, was crafted almost entirely from man-made fabrics, and called it a look of "new minimalism." The elborately bold jewelry will surely be clamored for. As Style.com's Derek Blasberg put it, "If you judge a designer by the level of applause at his finale, Alber Elbaz is the best."
>> Steven Meisel, Kristen McMenamy Reteam for Lanvin Fall 2009 —When Steven Meisel reteamed with Kristen McMenamy for the July 2009 Vogue Italia cover and a 31-page editorial called "The Legend," he wasn't done. The pair worked together again for Lanvin's Fall 2009 campaign, the first image of which paints Kristen as a petrified woman, surrounded by black cats. [TFS]
>> Karl Lagerfeld Responds to Rumors of Chanel Retirement —Yesterday evening, Cathy Horyn asked Karl Lagerfeld about the veracity of the rumors that he might be stepping down at Chanel and be replaced by Alber Elbaz of Lanvin: "Mr. Lagerfeld said to forget about it. He was going to die with his boots on. He also mentioned that Alain Wertheimer, whose family owns Chanel, said he would sell the house when the designer leaves. This might not be the case, Mr. Lagerfeld said, but it was a nice thing to be told." [On the Runway]
Alber Elbaz Wants to Satiate Your Needs with Lanvin Cruise 2010
>> Alber Elbaz arrived in New York on Saturday to present Lanvin's Cruise 2010 collection, which is in categories based on needs — “men’s tailoring for women, capsules for traveling and weekend” — this morning. Another one of the needs the collection addresses? How to offer special clothes without the high price tags — hence the inclusion of tees starting at $119 and cotton dresses at $450. Alber said before that part of the collection was inspired by Damages; today he added Samantha Ronson to the list of influence.
Bazaar's Glenda Bailey brought temporary intern Tallulah Willis, who hugged the designer, to the presentation, and Alber chatted about how he worked through his recent birthday and is looking forward to a vacation: “I’m still trying to find that perfect spot. It used to be Asia. But now I’m looking all over Europe. But once you find a location, you can’t find a nice home. And once you find a nice home, you don’t like the interiors. You see, we’re very picky in this fashion industry.”
>> INSIDER WIRE —Despite rumors otherwise, it sounds like Alber Elbaz is happily situated at Lanvin for the long haul: the self-professed Project Runway fan created a new tailoring capsule collection for Lanvin's Cruise 2010 collection inspired by Glenn Close's power suits in Damages. The looks will be produced in the same Italian factories as Lanvin's menswear and mark Elbaz's expansion into a number of capsule collections for next season, including ranges of jersey, long dresses, bridal gowns, and dip-dyed cotton sportswear, as well as his denim line with Acne. [WWD]
>> INSIDER WIRE —Spokespeople at Chanel and Lanvin promptly denied Friday's rumor that Karl Lagerfeld might be exiting Chanel, with Alber Elbaz taking his place and Olivier Theyskens taking over at Lanvin, but over the weekend, Style.com's Derek Blasberg, who was in Venice for the Biennale with a number of fashion insiders, tweeted: "Hold up now, y´all. Word on the street here in Venice is that maybe some of this fashion designer shuffling is true." [The Cut, Derek Blasberg Twitter]
Rumor: Karl Lagerfeld to Step Down at Chanel, With Alber Elbaz Stepping In?
>> While Karl Lagerfeld is preparing for the Chanel Fall 2009 couture show on July 7 — which he plans to hold at sunset in the Grand Palais — rumors are swirling about his future at the company. Although he has said in the past that he doesn't plan to retire, it's circling that he will not renew his contract at Chanel, that Alber Elbaz will take his place, and Olivier Theyskens will take Alber's place at Lanvin.
Diane Pernet says both choices "make perfect sense" to her, but why would Alber, who has brought Lanvin profit through wearable clothes, be replaced with Olivier Theyskens, who is hardly known for wearable designs? Anna Wintour is close friends with Karl Lagerfeld — but close enough to convince him to step down so she can find placement for Olivier Theyskens?
Diane also adds that she heard that Schiaparelli, which is expected to relaunch next year at earliest, has decided to switch directions and focus on a less expensive line.
Alber Elbaz Says He's Technologically Challenged
>> In March, The New Yorker did a profile on Alber Elbaz that left him seeming unconfident and unhappy with himself. Stephanie Seymour sat down with the Lanvin designer for the May 2009 issue of Interview and came away with a glimpse of a different side of Alber — one who doesn't mess with sexy clothes, small talk, or overeager interns. There is one category, however, that Elbaz feels less than adequate in:
He knows his way around a dress, but can't work the remote.
I have no sense of direction, no technical skills. My boyfriend thinks that I stay with him just because he knows how to work the remote control at home. If it has buttons, I depend on him. Sometimes I think that I am kind of either f*cked-up or dyslexic. Like, my brain doesn’t get it! Everything that has to do with a machine is hard. But I live with it now. I don’t have a complex about machines — I just don’t know how to use them.
Alber Elbaz Brings Out His Jokes for London Lanvin Opening
>> In honor of Lanvin's first London store, Alber Elbaz — who is apparently on a post-show, protein-only diet — flew in to give a guided tour of his Spring 2009 collection. During the day, there was a "girls only" policy, but at night, the ladies — Alexandra Shulman, Yasmin Le Bon, Anouck Lepere — were joined by the menfolk — Jefferson Hack, Juergen Teller, Jonathan Newhouse. Microphone in hand, Elbaz had the audience "in stitches," according to WWD, as he cracked jokes while presenting: “I dress women. I don’t undress them — unfortunately. My mother would be happy if I did.”
As for his denim collaboration with Acne: “It’s so nice when Acne tells me, ‘No problem, we can do that.’ I live in Paris, where you ask a cab driver to take you somewhere and he says ‘No.’” When he introduced Anna de Rijk, hot off the runway, as his bride, he joked on his decision to carry wedding dress in the store: “I have friends — Liz Taylor types — who are on their third and fourth weddings. They tell me they need a different dress for each one.” And to wrap it up, a little comment on what women want: “Next to chocolate or a rose, I think the only thing that can make a woman happy is maybe a pink dress.”
*image: source
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