January 27, 2025 |
To co-opt a coquettish French greeting: Coucou, Peter Copping! The British designer has taken the helm at Lanvin with a poised, self assured and stylish debut. One would expect nothing less of Copping, a supremely talented designer, whose previous gigs include Nina Ricci and working with Demna on Balenciaga’s haute couture. Craft, cut, femininity: Copping knows his chic.
He has been tasked with guiding the storied brand out of the doldrums into which it has fallen in recent years as it flipped owners and designers and became untethered from a sense of itself. Copping gave that back. He leaned into to the house’s history: founded by Jeanne Lanvin in 1889, it is the oldest continuously operating Parisian couture maison.
Lanvin was a remarkable and dynamic woman, dressing men, women and children as well as producing perfume and interiors, all adhering to what she described as ‘le chic ultime’, the term she coined for her elegant style.
Elegance is something Copping has an instinct for. Long lean pencil skirts and voluminous caban jackets, supple satin trench coats, and lean, sinuous gowns telegraphed the archness of couture but had a confident 21st century ease. Nothing looked tricky or try-hard, yet the skill and craft was intense. You could see it in the fluid draped T-shirts which dripped with embroidery. Simple and sensational, they looked as good on the boys as the girls. There were plenty of statement pieces – a striking leopard print men’s coat, a flouncy golden lamé evening gown – but alongside them was a wardrobe of keepers – desirable, beautifully detailed. Women who love sensual, well crafted clothes will rejoice. Lanvin is back.
Photography courtesy of Lanvin.
