Overview
Lanvin opened a dedicated tailor-shirtmaker department in Paris in 1926, managed by Maurice Lanvin and staffed by three unnamed French tailors. That foundation established menswear as a structural part of the house, though its post-war chronology did not follow women’s couture.
Later phases included Patrick Lavoix, Dominique Morlotti, Martin Krutzki and, from 2005, Lucas Ossendrijver’s clearly separated design studio. Bruno Sialelli reunited public authority over women’s and men’s collections in 2019, while Peter Copping’s current remit again spans both categories.
Philosophy
Lanvin menswear has repeatedly negotiated tailoring without treating formality as fixed. Its most documented modern language emerged under Ossendrijver, who combined softened construction, utility and sportswear traces with precise proportion.
The category’s history is defined by changing studio structures as much as by silhouette. Separate menswear authorship, shared house direction and later unified mandates have each produced different relations between the men’s wardrobe and Lanvin’s wider image.
