Ngl, we got pretty excited when we saw that the house of Lanvin would be making its return to the runway for this season, and with brand new artistic director, Peter Copping, leading the ship. And he just breathed new life into the French house.
Though Lanvin may be France’s oldest couture house, it has been struggling to get back on its toes since CD Alber Elbaz’s departure in 2015. But in June last year, it was announced that Copping was named the new artistic director.
The British designer had previously worked with Demna – heading the Balenciaga couture studio, which brought Balenciaga’s haute couture back to the fashion week schedule in 2021, something that hadn’t happened since Cristobal’s passing in 1968. His work at Balenci was remarkable. Before that, Copping had worked with Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton, and was artistic director at Nina Ricci and Oscar de la Renta. Man’s got the experience and the skillset – he’s been around the block – and it showed.
Copping’s inaugural collection smartly merged womenswear and menswear with an overall quintessentially chic vibe that tapped into the house codes without doing too much. Small nods to founder Jeanne Lanvin were seen in the art deco-inspired, gold-on-black embroidered silks and velvets, and the art deco showspace, inspired by Jeanne’s 1920s-era home interiors. The two off-the-shoulder dresses at the finalé also screamed Jeanne Lanvin:, a black velvet ballgown and a gold lamé tea-length party dress with ruffled petals.
The black, brown and navy tailoring was quintessentially sophisticated. The menswear included pointed brogues, a steezy addition to the classic tailoring. You can definitely see Balenciaga influences in Copping’s lush oversized overcoats with the wide lapels, and the cold leather trench coats with stand collars and broad shoulders.
Copping has smoothly entered the world of Lanvin with a polished first collection that was seeped in rich but wearable pieces. The true test will be couture, but as a couture GOAT, he’s probably got that down.
Featured images Lanvin©
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