Lanvin has signed with ex-Loewe designer Bruno Sialelli, sources say

By

Astrid Wendlandt

Published
Oct 9, 2018

Lanvin has finally chosen its new creative director for womenswear: Bruno Sialelli, who has designed menswear at LVMH’s Loewe since 2016, several industry sources told FashionNetwork.com.

The deal ends months of speculation around who will take the creative helm of France’s oldest fashion maison since China’s Fosun International bought control in February. “There have been media reports saying Sialelli was in talks but the reality is that he has already signed with Lanvin,” one of the sources said on condition of anonymity.

However, Lanvin is not yet able to announce that it has an agreement with Sialelli because the designer is negotiating with Loewe and LVMH the settlement of his non-competition clause which prevents him from working for a rival brand for some time, the source said.

Once that point is clarified, Lanvin will be in a position to announce when Sialelli will start working for the French brand, it added. It is understood that Sialelli signed with Lanvin last month. 

Sialelli, who attended Paris design school Studio Berçot and worked for Paco Rabanne, Acne Studios and Balenciaga, has already left Loewe, several industry sources said. They also said Lucas Ossendrijver, creative director for menswear at Lanvin since 2005, will likely be on his way out and incoming Sialelli will look after menswear on top of womenswear. No-one at Lanvin returned requests for comment.

Lanvin has been struggling to find a new credible voice and gotten rid of two designers already since sacking star creative director Alber Elbaz three years ago. Lanvin has sunk deep into loss since and its new owners are now trying to come up with a strategy that will help reboot the brand and bring it back to profitability. In August, Fosun International hired Jean-Philippe Hecquet, a seasoned LVMH executive, as Lanvin’s new CEO. Hecquet had previously run French fashion brand Sandro for four years and worked for Louis Vuitton in Canada and at Tag Heuer as retail director.