Guy Laroche appoints Richard René as Creative Director

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Sep 6, 2017

There has been a surprise change at Guy Laroche: the fashion label has issued a press release announcing the arrival of Richard René as its new Creative Director. René succeeds US designer Adam Andrascik, who took charge of creativity for the Parisian couture label in 2015. Guy Laroche, scheduled to show its Spring/Summer 2018 collection in Paris on 27th September, has described the new appointment as "a new chapter in its history."
 

René's arrival is evidence of "an evolution which will allow [Guy Laroche] to make its mark as a contemporary label but also to go back to its basics: sophisticated luxury, total focus on cuts, a strong penchant for the unexpected ... And an absolutely free spirit. All of these values resonate with the designer's own experience," wrote the label in the press release.
 
Like his predecessor, Richard René is little known to the general public. He was formerly the Creative Director of French beachwear label Vilebrequin, where he will continue to head design whilst consulting for other brands.

Richard René is a design graduate from Paris' Applied Arts Institute LISAA, and his career began at Hermès, as assistant to the collections' director. Three years later, in 1997, he joined Jean Paul Gaultier, where he spent most of his career, first in charge of the leather goods collections and later becoming the French designer's assistant for the haute couture collections.
 
Seven years later, having won the Grand Prize at the Hyères fashion festival in 2004, and three other awards to boot, he launched his solo career, starting his own label Richardrené, whose collections showed at the Paris couture week. In 2010, he put his label on ice and rejoined Jean Paul Gaultier, until 2011.
 
"As I grew up, the Guy Laroche label epitomised luxury and freedom for me," said the designer, a believer in a radical kind of fashion, distinctive for its minimalist rigour and sophisticated cuts.
 
"Guy Laroche was a daring designer, a pioneer, and he lived a life of freedom, like the women he dressed. This is the spirit I would like to ignite again at this label, a mood I think is currently more than ever topical," said Richard René in the press release.