Carven entrusts its creative direction to Louise Trotter

By

Olivier Guyot

Translated by
Cassidy STEPHENS

Published
Feb 22, 2023

Louise Trotter joins a respected French fashion house. Earlier this year, the British creative director left Lacoste after four years during which she had refined the "sporty chic" silhouette of the MF Brands' flagship brand.

The designer will now work at Carven, owned by the Chinese ICCF Group (Icicle Carven China France) since 2018. Carven has announced that Louise Trotter, who also worked for the contemporary English brand Joseph, where she imposed her refined style from 2009 to 2018, will present her first collection for the brand during a show at the Spring-Summer 2024 Paris Fashion Week in September.

"I feel honoured to write a new chapter for Carven: a young French house that embodies for me a spirit of freedom, joy and confident femininity," the designer says in a statement. "I look forward to respecting Madame Carven's legacy by creating clothes with a new simplicity that are both useful and beautiful, while being respectful of people and our environment."

Ads

Since the 2018 takeover of Carven, the ICCF group, which has a studio in the heart of Paris, has been working to structure the brand. The group has developped the label's visibility and created an e-commerce site, put together a team and opened a flagship on the Champs-Elysées roundabout, the same place where Marie-Louise Carven used to display the creations of her house founded in 1945.

"Louise Trotter is the perfect candidate to revive the house of Carven. She is a talented designer who has the conviction and know-how to create striking clothes with a unique understanding of what luxury and sportswear mean today," says Shawna Tao, the group's CEO. "I believe her values and openness can lead this 70-year-old fashion house into a new and exciting future. The Carven team and I look forward to working closely with Louise."

Since the departure of Serge Ruffieux in autumn 2018, the house of Carven has been without a creative director. Louise Trotter will therefore be tasked with restoring the brand's prominence in the Parisian marketplace.