“Turbulent times,” Lucas Ossendrijver said backstage at Lanvin, referring to upheavals in the geopolitical sphere – and the French fashion house he’s called home for 10 years.
This was the designer’s first effort since the ouster last October of artistic director Alber Elbaz, with whom he had shared design credit. “Of course I miss him,” Ossendriver said, while stressing stability in his design team and its obsession with intensive, hand-wrought techniques and billowing silhouettes.
Here were familiar shapes – enveloping, soft-shouldered coats; pajama-loose suits; filmy camp shirts – but given a more rugged aspect with intentional crinkling, raw edges and spray dye techniques, giving clothes and shoes alike an aged appearance.
Slip-on and low-top sneakers appeared with the various sprayed treatments, mostly in primary colors that juxtaposed the darker clothes. Lace-up creepers were finished in a woven treatment. Leather dress shoes had patches of suede applied overtop.
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Scruffy, long-haired models – one a dead ringer for German Renaissance painter Albrecht Dürer – brought to mind the bohemian, swashbuckling flair of Johnny Depp with their unzipped shirts, coarsely knotted lariats banging on their lean ribcages.
If Elbaz was partial to borderline-feminine couture fabrics, Ossendrijver went for woodsy English checks, beefy shearling detailed with metal rings and frazzled kangaroo fur. While the color palette was restrained, the layered looks – also melding bits of denim and shots of plaid – added up to a rich display.
According to sources, Lanvin management may not name a new overall artistic director to succeed Elbaz, but rather appoint a new women’s creative director, leaving Ossendrijver in charge of men’s.
Elbaz gave his vote of confidence on Instagram, posting a portrait with Ossendrijver and writing “Good luck with your show today Lucas.”
[With contributions from Christian Allaire]
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