He indulged in a spot of paddling last season, but for spring 2020, new Lanvin creative director Bruno Sialelli cast off his water-wings and plunged in at the deep end. Showing around an Olympic-sized swimming pool, across all three stories of Paris’ Pailleron sports center, he unveiled a vast array of summer-ready shoes, and every one was medal-worthy.
Rope shoes, suede moccasins and Chelsea boots were done in muted sandy shades and the occasional shot of mint sorbet.
The boots, he said, were inspired by a trip he made to Jordan and Israel. “I saw all the kids wearing army shorts and Chelsea boots and I found it very sexy,” he recalled.
Brightly striped espadrilles riffed off beach parasols while the sort of sandals sold by Greek island artisans, in natural leathers, took on the saturated colors of the Aegean Sea.
There were also PVA shoes in vibrant hues like rubber duck yellow. Sialelli, who hails from Marseilles in southern France, said the idea came from the footwear people wear on the region’s rocky beaches.
Bringing up the rear, was a section of sneakers, in retro silhouettes and washed out colorways. “Everyone wears sneakers all the time,” he told FN, “so I thought it was time to find the Lanvin sneaker. We did lots of work on the washes to make them look as if they are from the ’70s or ’80s.”
The designer explained that, for him, shoes and other accessories help to define his characters.
“We’re talking to a younger audience,” he said of the new direction he’s imposed on the house, “so I was thinking about your first holiday when you go to a Greek island and wear those awful hats,” he laughed.
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