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Lanvin bids farewell to Bouchra Jarrar
Renowned French fashion house Lanvin, facing financial woes, has decided to say goodbye to creative director Bouchra Jarrar, the label confirmed on Thursday. Her departure is effective as of 6 July.
It was revealed in June that the results of France's oldest active couture house had been in freefall for a year, and that sales of collections by Jarrar had been very poor.
The designer was only named creative director of womenswear at the label 15 months ago, but her collections "did not appeal," a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
"Bouchra Jarrar was very shaken by the lack of success of her collections. Her departure had already been a given for quite a while," the source said, also adding that the designer will not present a Spring/ Summer collection for the next season at the end of September. According to Lanvin, who described the decision as 'mutual,' Jarrar will now focus on new projects.
In turmoil since the departure of its former creative director Alber Elbaz, Lanvin saw its sales fall 23% in 2016 to 162 million euros and reported a net loss of 18.3 million, after recording profit of 6.3 million in 2015, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in June.
The negative trend was exacerbated at the beginning of 2017, with sales dropping 32% year-on-year throughout January and February 2017, an evolution that marked a sharp contrast with the rebound observed at other luxury brands such as LVMH's Louis Vuitton, or Kering's Gucci, which both steamed ahead thanks to an increase in Chinese consumer spending.
75-year-old Taiwanese billionaire Shaw-Lan Wang, who holds a 75% stake in Lanvin and who has previously dismissed a takeover offer from Qatar, has so far let nothing slip about her intentions, only commenting that she wished to thank the designer for serving the company with her talent.
In contrast, Swiss businessman Ralph Bartel, who owns a 25% stake, has been urging a change of strategy and a refreshment of the label by means of new investment.
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