British designer Louise Trotter is to exit Carven, the French heritage house where she has been creative director for almost two years, in January. The move has added weight to rumours she could be heading to Kering’s Bottega Veneta to take over from Matthieu Blazy, who in turn is said to the favourite for the top design role at Chanel.
Trotter, whose career has taken in stints at Lacoste, Joseph, Gap and Whistles, has been credited with injecting new life and direction into Carven since she joined. Prior to her arrival the house, originally founded by Madame Carven oil 1945 had had a string of creative directors, including Serge Ruffieux. The brand has been owned by Chinese group Icicle since 2018 and made its return to Paris Fashion Week under Trotter.
Carven made the announcement of her departure on its Instagram page with a short quote reading: “On January 24th, Louise Trotter will close this chapter with us. Every ending is a new beginning. Best wishes to all of our creative peers.”
Trotter is the second high profile British designer to leave their role in the past two days. Yesterday John Galliano announced he was leaving Margiela, prompting speculation that he may be returning to head up Dior, the LVMH-owned powerhouse he lead for nearly 15 years until he was let go in 2011 amid controversy surrounding anti-semitic comments made in a bar under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Galliano spent a number of years out of the industry, where he undertook rehab and a period of soul-searching, before returning to head up Margiela in 2014. He is, however, not the only name linked to Dior. Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson, who has taken fellow LVMH house Loewe to new heights both creatively and commercially, is also being linked as a possible new lead designer at Dior. However the womenswear chief designer role is still occupied by Maria Grazia-Chiuri and, as yet, there has been no confirmation that she is departing. Another British designer, Kim Jones, is artistic director of menswear at Dior.
