The creative director returns to the heart of Lanvin's heritage, prioritizing rigor, patience, egoism, and teamwork.&nbsp;

PHOTOGRAPHY Paolo Musa STYLED BY Giulia Martinelli

There is one word that keeps coming back as Peter Copping describes his work: method. No diva-like whims, no concessions to ego. The creative director of Lanvin—the oldest haute couture house still in operation, founded in 1889—speaks of his craft as a daily process, one of constant dialogue with an established team he chose to keep intact rather than replace with a circle of loyalists.
After starting out at Sonia Rykiel in the mid-1990s, working for more than a decade at Louis Vuitton under Marc Jacobs, leading design at Nina Ricci and Oscar de la Renta, and overseeing the relaunch of haute couture at Balenciaga, Copping approaches Lanvin with a clear mission: Return to the heart of the brand's heritage, once again centering the pleasure of collective creation.

Portrait of Peter Copping.

L'OFFICIEL: You joined Lanvin in 2024, at a pivotal moment for the house. What made this appointment different from your previous roles?
PETER COPPING: At Nina Ricci and Oscar de la Renta I had already worked within the heritage of a maison, although Lanvin’s is far more imposing. Today, the system doesn’t give a designer time to settle in and grow season after season. Everything has to work right away—that’s the real challenge.
L'O:&nbsp;You also inherited a brand still closely associated with the late Alber Elbaz, whose transformative 14-year tenure redefined Lanvin and produced some of the most celebrated collections of the 2000s. The house has had several creative leaders since his 2015 departure, but his influence has remained deeply ingrained in its identity, continuing even after his death in 2021. What weight did that legacy carry for you?
PC: While I admire his work, I always felt it was more Alber Elbaz for Lanvin than Lanvin in its purest form. I wanted instead to return to the heart of the maison and highlight the Jeanne Lanvin era. I focused primarily on pieces from the 1930s, which still strike me today as contemporary in terms of their cut, materials, and detailing.
L'O: You chose not to bring your own team with you. That’s an unusual decision.
PC: The team was already in place and had been working with great dedication for several seasons without a permanent creative director [following Bruno Sialelli’s exit in April 2023]. It didn’t feel right to come in and say, I want my own people. I was curious to see who was there and to work with them. We hit it off from the very first fittings, and based on the brief I had given, they created exactly what I had envisioned. It was an organic experience, which is quite rare, I must admit. I think designers like staying in their comfort zone, surrounded by a small group of people they already know how to work with. But that way, nothing ever changes, and I didn’t want my work at Lanvin to resemble what I had done elsewhere.

JADE: Coat, turtleneck, shoes, and bag LANVIN; JOSEPH: Coat, shirt, pants, and shoes LANVIN

L'O: How would you define the essence of Lanvin?
PC: It is very Parisian, very French. A fashion house with a rich history, especially in terms of fabrics and embroidery. But it is also a maison that can dress both men and women for any occasion. There’s also an element I love: Jeanne Lanvin was inspired by her daughter, and the emblem of the house is a mother and child. I find it a beautiful symbol that makes the brand transversal. I want to speak to women of different ages, and the same goes for men.
L'O: Menswear was new territory for you. How did you approach it?
PC: From a technical standpoint, I was prepared. I have solid technical skills—I understand garment construction, and I enjoy it. Besides, the rules of menswear have changed significantly. For the first collection, we took sumptuous, embroidered evening gowns from the 1920s and transformed them into men’s T-shirts. One was worn by Morgan Spector from The Gilded Age—he’s a very masculine man—and it looked fantastic on him. It’s great that men today can broaden the horizons of their wardrobes without feeling judged, and I think we owe a lot of that to Alessandro Michele and his first menswear collection for Gucci [in Fall/Winter 2015]. With that red shirt with the bow, he changed the rules of the game.

Cover of L'OFFICIEL n.7 from 1922

L'O:&nbsp;What did you feel when you began to study the archive?
PC: Pure excitement. I dove head-first into the archives, but I also explored the pieces held at the Palais Galliera and the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation, which houses a remarkable Lanvin collection. I’ve always loved fashion history, so it was a tremendous pleasure to immerse myself in the maison’s heritage.
L’O: In your view, what have you brought to the maison? 
PC: I think it comes down to my methods and choices. Take fabrics, for example: some are virtually identical to those Jeanne Lanvin used, yet today there is a much wider range available. I work with polyester, laser cutting, digital printing, machine embroidery—which I love for its precision—and even heat-applied embellishments like rhinestones and stones, a tribute to the in-house embroidery ateliers Jeanne Lanvin once maintained.

L’O: What does a typical day look like for you? 
PC: I love my job. Most days I arrive around 9:30 a.m. and stay until 7:00 or 8:00 p.m., working closely with the design team on everything from shoes and bags to jewelry and clothing. That’s normal for me, even though I know that at some major houses you have to schedule an appointment with the designer—and hope you actually get one. Being together and creating together may seem like an old-fashioned approach, but I actually think it’s extremely modern. The era of outsized egos probably won’t end anytime soon, but that has never been my way of working.
L’O: What role does fashion play today? 
PC: I believe it still has the power to make people dream. At a time when so many terrible things are happening in the world, fashion offers a measure of escape—perhaps through red-carpet looks, though that’s not really my focus. I’m more interested in people who appreciate beautiful, well-made, expertly crafted clothes and who simply want to dress well. I’m not looking for mass appeal; I’d rather create a coherent vision and cultivate a truly loyal clientele.
L’O: What do you value most from the old school, and what do you appreciate about fashion’s new approach? 
PC: From the old school, I value the rigor of fabric selection— knowing exactly which material is right for a particular purpose—as well as attention to cut and detail. Working with Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton, I learned to treat the inside of a garment with as much care as the outside. Those are lessons I still carry with me, even though I know that adding more details drives up the price, and today you have to remain competitive. What I appreciate about the new approach is the different way fashion is communicated—it feels more organic and, in some ways, more democratic. Budgets are smaller now, and we no longer run traditional ad campaigns. Years ago, I would have seen that as a tragedy; today, we film behind-the-scenes content to share on social media instead. Everything feels fresher and lighter.

L’O: What challenge excites you most today? 
PC: For a smaller house like Lanvin, the challenge is making ourselves heard. There are a few dominant players, like Chanel or Dior, who overshadow the others through the sheer volume of their collaborations and activations. They can have twenty brand ambassadors—but when you only have one, what happens? On the other hand, that scale also makes us interesting to those looking for something more niche.&nbsp;
L’O: Is there a special project you are particularly proud of? 
PC: With the men’s collection at the end of June, we presented our first collaboration with John Smedley, a historic knitwear manufacturer [based in England]. There’s a parallel there that I find beautiful: Lanvin is the oldest couture house still in continuous operation, and John Smedley is the oldest knitwear factory still running, dating back to the 18th century. I liked the idea of working with a highly specialized company, and I also love designing knitwear. We will be introducing the line for women, as well, in September.
L’O: What do you love most about working in fashion? 
PC: I love being in the studio and working with the team. What I find less appealing is the whole circus that surrounds fashion— the Met Gala buzz, for instance. When I was younger, I used to watch runway shows and found the pursuit of beauty fascinating. Today, I appreciate the fact that fashion never stands still; I find it enriching to tackle different challenges each time. Just recently, I was in Como visiting the fabric archives from our suppliers. Being part of the process—that’s what I truly enjoy.

MODELS: Jade, Barbara, Joseph G., and Guillaume&nbsp;NEW MADISON AGENCY HAIR: Fabiene Giambona&nbsp;TAG AGENCY MAKEUP: Rafael Pita CALLISTÉ PRODUCER: Joshua Glasgow PHOTO ASSISTANTS: Alexandre Doublet and Django Coudreau HAIR ASSISTANT: Badr El Anaami MAKE-UP ASSISTANT: Gabriel Leggieri

From left: JADE: Coat, top, skirt, hat, and shoes LANVIN; JOSEPH: Jacket, shirt, pants, and shoes LANVIN; GUILLAUME: Jacket, top, pants, and shoes LANVIN; BARBARA: Dress, hat, and shoes LANVIN; Peter Copping in his own clothes.

Method Is The Key: Peter Copping on the Spirit of Lanvin

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