Lanvin names Peter Copping artistic director

Dive Brief:

• Lanvin Group has appointed Peter Copping as artistic director of its flagship Lanvin brand, according to a Thursday press release. Copping will oversee both the womenswear and menswear collections starting in September.
• Copping was most recently head of couture at Kering-owned Balenciaga, and prior to that he was creative director of Oscar de la Renta, where he was the first designer to step into the role following de la Renta’s death in 2014. Copping was also creative director at Nina Ricci from 2009 to 2014, and before that spent more than 10 years working with Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton after starting his industry career at Sonia Rykiel, per the release.
• Lanvin has been without an artistic director since Bruno Sialelli left the brand after four years in April 2023. At the end of last year, Joann Cheng, Lanvin Group’s founding chairman and CEO exited the company and at the time suggested a new creative hire was imminent.

Dive Insight:

When Sialelli left his role at the luxury house, it marked a new direction for the brand. Musician Future was picked to be the first guest creative director of its new Lanvin Lab incubator project, and the company also introduced a new leather goods and accessories division.

Lanvin Group said in its release that Copping’s hire was part of a larger brand transformation initiated over the past two years and intended to recast the Lanvin house with more of a contemporary vision. Lanvin, founded in 1889, is among the oldest luxury fashion houses in the world.

“Jeanne Lanvin was a visionary of her time whose interests and passions extended far beyond fashion, as do my own,” Copping said in the release. “I am extremely honoured to have been chosen as Artistic Director of Lanvin and to be able, along with the atelier and teams, to write the next chapter for this iconic House.”

Copping’s ability to reinterpret the aesthetics of the house will also play a key part in the success of the brand, Eric Chan, CEO of Lanvin Group, said in the release.

“This new chapter for the house fits perfectly with our commitment to meeting the evolving needs and desires of our clients,” Chan said.

Lanvin Group, which owns Lanvin, Wolford, Sergio Rossi, St. John Knits and Caruso, in February reported fiscal 2023 revenue increase of 1% to 426 million euros, or approximately $461 million, but the company saw a 7% year-over-year revenue decline for its Lanvin brand.