The Gentlewoman

Gerald Tan speaks to Bouchra Jarrar, Lanvin’s newest Creative Director, on a collection that reveals different sides of sensuality and intimacy for the brand

Portrait of Tammy Strobel

Gerald Tan speaks to Bouchra Jarrar, Lanvin’s newest Creative Director, on a collection that reveals different sides of sensuality and intimacy for the brand

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The Hôtel de Ville, a magnificent building situated in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, has witnessed its share of moments in French history. It was here that President Charles de Gaulle addressed the entire nation after the Liberation of Paris in 1944. Today, its opulent halls will be where Bouchra Jarrar writes a new chapter for the noble House of Lanvin. 

For Jarrar, this is the moment she joins fashion’s big league after working mostly behind-the-scenes for two decades. Patience is clearly a virtue for Jarrar. “I have taken the time to train and to live through wonderful experiences,” she says of the years she spent honing her craft at Jean Paul Gaultier, Balenciaga and Christian Lacroix.“I’ve been passionate about fashion for 25 years, passionate about creation, the technical aspects and all the jobs involved,” the 45-year-old adds. 

Even if Jarrar is fervent about fashion, she is not one to broadcast it through flashy declarations (though she shuttered her six-year-old namesake haute couture label to “commit 100 percent” to this new undertaking at Lanvin). Jarrar has been described by the fashion press as “reserved.” She speaks in assured, measured tones, and her debut for the French House is equally a show of restrained subtlety. If Elbaz’s Lanvin woman powered down the catwalks in an explosion of embellishments, exquisite ruffles and colours, then Jarrar’s version floats by swathed in dreamy layers of silk chiffon, lace and organza. 

The first collection throws light onto Jarrar’s artistic vision, which she declares as a vocabulary that “crosses borders between femininity and masculinity” and will “expand season by season.” “I have profound respect for the creative history of the Lanvin fashion house, including its founder Jeanne Lanvin, to whom I feel very close to,” Jarrar says. The House’s eponymous creator first recognised that fashion is an all-encompassing concept that extends beyond thread and seam, so it is only appropriate—and fitting—that Jarrar turns to her for inspiration to dream up clothes for real life. 

However, this is no mere homage on Jarrar’s part. Instead, she plays up her flair for tailoring, cutting a divine pantsuit as a sublime introduction to the feminine- masculine dichotomy she is known for. From there, Jarrar veils the female body in gossamer layers that show off skin, then contrasts the softness with a Perfecto jacket or dense plumage extending from collars or fluttering down the front of a vest. From a luxurious robe to tied waist dresses, there is no shortage of daywear that transition effortlessly into the night and back again. Lanvin’s new dawn under Jarrar’s care has begun.

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