photograph: a/w 2018 carven now led by creative director Serge Ruffieux, who had been at Dior the previous 8 years including Raf Simmons tenure. Unfortunately owned by Bluebell, a Hong Kong based luxury group, who knows how Carven will survive now that bankruptcy is being considered. Truly sad especially after the unfortunate incident with Lanvin. Shaw-Lan Wang, a Taiwanese media magnate took Lanvin private in 2001, but later dismissed Alber Elbaz who blew dying embers of the house into a blaze of success during his 14 years there. Elbaz was ultimately vindicated in legal machinations, but who knows whether it can survive without a creative director equally brilliant. The house of Carven may be even more important given Madame Carven's endorsement of democratic fashion. However, if anyone can revive its former glamor and brilliance, it is Ruffieux, whose winter collection embraces a chic DIY ethic and includes wonderfully wearable coats, jackets, and sweaters.
“I delved into the archives of Madame Carven when I first joined, because for me it’s important to understand the vision behind,” he says. “Her lifestyle and my imagination gave me the starting point for the new collection.” Founded in 1945 by Marie-Louise Carven, born Carmen de Tommaso, Madame Caren was eccentric, as a child designing clothing for her cat before tackling women fashion. Given the privations of WW II, the textile for her first collection was salvaged from the attic of a château, a mint green cotton, probably intended for housemaids' uniforms and a colour which became intrinsic to her fashion house.
see:
The Carven heritage brand lost its prime lustre in the 1990s as the business changed hands. Its former creative director, Guillaume Henry, who elevated the brand from a contemporary label to high-fashion provenance from 2009-2015. Last year, Asia-based luxury distributor Bluebell Group became the majority shareholder of Carven, opening new opportunities for the brand’s development in the Asia market. The new CEO, Sophie de Rougemont, put Ruffieux at the creative helm.
How does this relate to sustainable fashion? Such regional business must be supported for their efforts to maintain a local economy, employing thousands, researching new types of textiles, dyes, etc. Much of the sustainable fashion has been initially explored by designers working in couture and ready to wear--these concepts filter throughout the fashion eco system and may yet moderate and convert fast fashion. To promote greater sustainability in fashion Koren Helbig of the Guardian recently published an article in the Guardian, Shop Less, Mend More, critical as the fashion industry continues to shamelessly pollute. see: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/10/shop-less-mend-more-making-more-sustainable-fashion-choices
Increasingly, regionally based designers are utilising materials that are sustainable, flax and hemp instead of cotton and more sustainable techniques. Stella McCartney, long a proponent of sustainability has bought back the shares of her company owned by Kering, which will give her greater control over her production and distribution.
Tom of Holland has long been a proponent of mending clothes aesthetically, his Visible Mending Programme to ensure longer use and alleviate stress on global resources. He is also a knitter, and his pages devoted to this are equally interesting. The Brits in general have initiated a fairly visible trend of repair and reuse, especially in the field of cell phone and electronics. Long a national trait especially efforts during WWII, thrift continues to drive sustainable practices.
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