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Lanvin must have heard the scathing critical reviews of its latest fashion show loud and clear. Just several days after its fall 2016 fail, WWD reports that Lanvin is close to signing designer Bouchra Jarrar to replace Alber Elbaz.
Jarrar would only be taking over the women's side of the business, unlike former designer Elbaz, who also oversaw men's collections.
Jarrar launched her own namesake label in 2010 and is known for her precision cuts and incredibly wearable and everyday clothes (think: minimal blouses, skirts, bombers, and Le Smoking jackets). This would be a stark contrast to the over-the-top and romantic Elbaz.
She made stops at Jean Paul Gaultier; Balenciaga, working as studio director under Nicolas Ghesquière; and Christian Lacroix as couture head of design. She started designing her own couture collections in 2013.
Rumored to take over the men's side is current Lanvin Homme designer Lucas Ossendrijver. Under the new set-up, the men's and women's divisions would run completely autonomously.
Update: It's official. WWD reports that Lanvin just named Jarrar as artistic director of women’s collections.
Jarrar said in a statement that she wants to "bring to Lanvin the harmony and consistency of a fashion designed for women, a fashion of our time."
Update: Fashion critic Alexander Fury has it that Jarrar will close her own label to focus on Lanvin.
Oh wow Bouchra Jarrar is closing to focus on Lanvin. A shame. Potentially setting a trend though, with Dior still pending...
— Alexander Fury (@AlexanderFury) March 11, 2016
Vanessa Friedman writes in the New York Times that Jarrar's first collection for Lanvin will be the resort 2016 precollection in Paris in June.