British designer Trotter gets chosen by French fashion house Carven

Trotter had been at the helm of Lacoste until last month, and has also had stints at Gap, Calvin Klein and the British label Joseph.

Carven, the French fashion label seeking to regain its luster, said Wednesday that it had named the British designer Louise Trotter as its new creative designer, four years after the house was acquired by China’s Icicle group.

Trotter had been at the helm of Lacoste until last month, and has also had stints at Gap, Calvin Klein and the British label Joseph.

She will present in September her first collection for the storied brand founded in 1945 by Marie-Louise Carven, who injected a fresh and joyous style into young women’s wardrobes in its postwar prime.

The brand fell out of favour in later decades before a revival in the late 2000s, but falling sales forced it into liquidation in 2018, prompting the sale later that year to what is now Icicle Carven China France (ICCF).

“I feel honoured to write a new chapter for Carven: a youthful French house that to me embodies a spirit of freedom, joy and a confident femininity,” Trotter said in a statement.

Shawna Tao, chief executive of ICCF, called the Sunderland-born designer the “perfect candidate,” saying she has “the conviction and know-how to create meaningful clothes with a unique understanding of what luxury and sportswear mean today.”

Carven, born Carmen de Tommaso, died in 2015 aged 105.