Lanvin creative director Bruno Sialelli is stepping down as the French house restructures its business to prepare for its next stage of growth.
Sialelli, who has been with the house for four years, is exiting as Lanvin announces the creation of two new divisions to sit alongside the main ready-to-wear men’s and women’s business: a leather goods and accessories department with a dedicated creative team, and Lanvin Lab, a new division dedicated to collaborative projects.
The new organisational structure is designed to support Lanvin’s ongoing turnaround, and comes months after parent Lanvin Group’s public flotation on the US stock exchange in December saw a fresh injection of cash into the business. Leather goods in particular will “assume a central place in the house’s product language,” the brand said, noting that the category now accounts for over half of Lanvin sales.
Meanwhile, Lanvin Lab is designed to facilitate brand partnerships with established and rising industry talents that will complement the main ready-to-wear business, providing “a new space for innovation and collaboration for the house,” according to Siddhartha Shukla, the brand’s deputy general manager. The debut Lanvin Lab tie-up is due to be announced in the coming weeks.
Lanvin is emerging from a period of turbulence. Following the exit of long-time creative director Alber Elbaz in 2015, the brand struggled financially. Widening losses and a revolving door of creative directors left the label on the brink of bankruptcy, before Chinese conglomerate Fosun snapped up the label in 2018 and established a new luxury group Lanvin Group.
Although sales remain far below their 2012 peak of €235 million, Lanvin’s brand revival is gaining momentum. Revenues hit €121 million in 2022, up 67 percent year-on-year.
Sialelli’s successor will be named shortly, the brand said.
