Just 16 months after joining Lanvin as artistic director, Bouchra Jarrar is leaving the brand, according to Business of Fashion. Bouchra took over Lanvin Womenswear from much-loved Alber Elbaz — who was at the helm for 14 years — in March last year, and at the time was heralded as “the obvious choice” by Lanvin’s CEO, Michèle Huiban.
Despite being lauded as an exciting choice at the time, not least because she was a woman — one of the few driving such a celebrated and storied brand — Jarrar was unable to revive Lanvin. Her new aesthetic; minimalist, tailored and full of restrained colours, was a departure from the drapery Elbaz championed for over a decade before her, and in June there was a 23% fall in revenue for 2016, compared to a profit of €6.3 million in 2015 under Elbaz.
Jarrar was also rocked by controversy in March this year, when casting director James Scully accused the label of discriminating against black models. At the time the designer hit back at the claims of racism, telling AFP: “They insult the couture houses with their accusations of racism. Our dressing room is full of girls from every origin. In fact, there is not a single French person in it. I want to talk about my creativity. I am not going to justify that I like [to use] all types of girls [in my shows].”
But she was unable to fully recover from the scandal and speaking a few months ago she admitted: “I have pressure. I need the whole house’s support; alone it’s impossible.” A representative for Lanvin declined to comment on the departure.
Credits
Text Roisin Lanigan
Image via Wikipedia