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On Monday, the French fashion house Lanvin will release its inaugural Lanvin Lab collection with Future, the rapper and producer. Earlier this year, Future was brought on, temporarily, to help design the collection for Lanvin Lab, the brand’s new design arm that will focus on rotating collaborations. More pieces from the unisex ready-to-wear collection, all designed by Future, will debut next year.
Why It Matters: Fashion is strengthening ties with the entertainment industry.
Lanvin, which was founded in 1889, has struggled to define its identity since Alber Elbaz was fired in 2015, and has cycled through a number of designers and owners. It is yet to announce a new creative director after Bruno Sialelli, who held the role since 2019, left earlier this year.
The collaboration arrives at a moment when the love affair between music and fashion continues to flourish, most notably with Pharrell Williams’s recent appointment as Louis Vuitton men’s creative director. The entertainment industry also bolstered its ties to fashion after François-Henri Pinault, the billionaire and chief executive of the luxury goods company Kering, bought a major stake this year in one of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies, Creative Artists Agency, through his family office.
Future, who is known for his distinctive style and appreciation for luxury clothes, said in an interview that the line “is a perfect fit to introduce me to the fashion world on the next level.” The collaboration was “organic,” he said, because he loved the brand and had always wanted to design.
“He was already in the universe of Lanvin as a customer,” said Siddhartha Shukla, Lanvin’s deputy general manager, adding that “it gave rise to a discussion around possibly doing something together.”
What It Looks Like: The collection is Lanvin with a touch of Future.
The first drop includes pieces such as denim overalls, a studded leather jacket and a black bag with gold, feline-shaped hardware.
“The vision from the beginning was to make sure we take the brand and make it about us,” Future said, “instead of just making it about me.”
That approach can be seen in the collection’s light denim overalls and matching bucket hat, with an ear and neck flap, printed with typography from an old Lanvin perfume campaign . Eagle symbols, featured on a red and yellow blanket and on a pair of sunglasses, symbolized Future’s record label, Freebandz, he said.
“I’m always thinking about how to incorporate the street style into fashion,” Future said, adding, “just from the neighborhood, with how people dress, just to bring that into the fashion world, man, that’s special.” (He said he was most excited about the tracksuits.)
Mr. Shukla said he believed that Future had the capacity to animate the brand, “in a way that’s very, very personal and that will speak to the millions and millions of people around the world who are attracted to his universe, are attracted to his music, are attracted to his vibe.”
