Designer Bouchra Jarrar has quit Jeanne Lanvin SA, the troubled Paris label confirmed on Thursday, only 10 months after she showed her first collection there.
The 46-year-old closed her own label in March last year so she could dedicate herself to reviving France’s oldest fashion house.
However, it soon became clear that all was not well within the house, which has been in turmoil since the shock firing of its previous designer, Alber Elbaz, in 2015.
In a short statement, Lanvin said the two parties had “mutually decided to put an end to their collaboration.”
Popular Elbaz had brought Lanvin, founded in 1889, back from the edge of oblivion before he fell foul of its formidable owner, Taiwanese media magnate Wang Shaw-lan (王效蘭).
The label sank 18.3 million euros (US$20.9 million at the current exchange rate) into the red last year, its first loss in a decade.
Jarrar’s two collections for the label were warmly received for their “sober elegance” by critics, and last week she was made an officer of France’s prestigious Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for her services to fashion.
However, with morale low in the brand’s workshop amid an exodus of talent after Elbaz’s departure, and rumors of further friction over budget cuts, her exit was not unexpected.
In March, Jarrar hinted that she was not getting the support that she needed to turn the label around.
“I want to bring my expertise, creativity, technical know-how and pragmatism” to the brand, she told the South China Morning Post.
For that, “I need the whole house’s support. Alone it’s impossible,” she added.
Wang and Lanvin’s other major shareholder, Swiss businessman Ralph Bartel, plan to recapitalize the company and relaunch the brand, French business magazine Challenges reported.
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