PARIS — The game of designer musical chairs continues.
Courrèges said Thursday it was parting ways with design duo Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant after two years, describing it as a mutual decision.
“They have accomplished the goal to reinterpret the house codes and distinctive shapes that are synonym of the brand uniqueness and innovative spirit,” the house said in a statement. “The two designers will now focus on new creative projects.”
François Le Ménahèze, appointed president of Courrèges in April, will reveal the brand’s new creative leadership in due course, the company added. This follows recent changes in creative direction at Lanvin, Givenchy and Chloé — all of whom will be presenting collections by new creative directors this fall.
In addition, a number of high-profile designers are currently unemployed, including Riccardo Tisci, Alber Elbaz, Hedi Slimane, Stefano Pilati, Peter Copping, Francisco Costa, Rodolfo Paglialunga, Frida Giannini and Marco Zanini.
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Meyer and Vaillant caught the industry’s attention with their Coperni label, which won ANDAM’s First Collection Award in 2014. They put it on hold to focus on Courrèges, where they whittled down the ready-to-wear offering to a handful of signature items like the jacket, with the aim of creating a stronger signature.
They showed their last collection for Courrèges at the company’s headquarters in March, standing in front of a large-scale video screen to deliver a speech about the clothes as they were projected behind them, mirroring the sort of presentation more commonly seen in the tech industry.
The designers disclosed their plan to focus on four of their “strength” categories — jackets, miniskirts, knits and the architectural dress — and three core values — optimism, smart design and dialogue.
“We are 27. We are born with the Internet and social media in our blood — it’s like breathing,” Vaillant said. “We live with screens, liking and swiping. It’s second nature. At the same time, we think the greatest luxury of all is to be in the same room, all physically here and to speak together in reality.”
Known for its pioneering Space Age designs in the Sixties, Courrèges was purchased in 2011 from founders André and Coqueline Courrèges by former advertising executives Jacques Bungert and Frédéric Torloting. They relaunched the brand through collaborations with the likes of Evian, Eastpak and Estée Lauder.
Artémis SA, French billionaire François Pinault’s family holding company, took a minority stake in the label in 2015.