After Cancelling Production For Its Spring/Summer 2018 Collection; Carven Files For Chapter 11

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Carven Spring 2018 Ready-To-Wear.

PARIS — In May 2016DM Fashion Book reported that Hong Kong and China distributor the Bluebell Group acquired Paris-based brand Carven. During that time, the majority shareholder also announced some major changes in strategy, starting with suspending their men’s line and parting ways with its menswear artistic director Barnabé Hardy (see it here). His last collection was presented  in June 2016, in Paris.

In October 2016, we announced that Carven was planning to name a new artistic director to succeed Alexis Martial and Adrien Caillaudaud (see it here).

January 2017, it was announced that Carven appointed Serge Ruffieux as creative director succeeding Martial and Caillaudaud (see it here).

Carven is in financial trouble. This comes as no surprise because the brand had to cancel production for its Spring/Summer 2018 collection.

A spokesman said on Wednesday (May 23), that Carven has been placed into receivership and is looking for a buyer.

The French contemporary brand and its parent company, Société Béranger, have filed a voluntary petition with the Paris Commercial Court for the French equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the spokesman said. This confirms a report in French financial newspaper Les Echos.

The company, which was “already fragile,” was hit to the tune of several million euros by a delay in the production of its spring collection designed by Serge Ruffieux, which forced it to cancel deliveries, he explained. Carven, which employs 99 people, has annual revenues in the region of 20 million euros.

The ownership structure of the label, which sold a majority stake to Bluebell Group in 2016, is unclear. At the time, Bluebell veteran Sophie de Rougemont was appointed chief executive officer, succeeding Henri Sebaoun, head of Société Béranger, which purchased Carven in 2008.

The spokesman said the label is held by eight shareholders including Bluebell, Sebaoun and Turenne Capital, but he could not confirm if Bluebell still owns a majority stake. Italian media reported in March that Italian private equity fund Style Capital, which owns a minority stake in MSGM, was kicking the tires on Carven.

The house was founded in 1945 by the late Madame Carven, the French couturier who traveled the world with her collections and brought back a trove of exotic influences.

Carven Spring 2018 Ready-To-Wear.

Photos Credit:  Monica Feudi / Indigital.tv

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Donovan

Donovan is the CEO and Editor-In-Chief of www.dmfashionbook.com. For all general inquiries please email don@dmfashionbook.com Donovan has a BA in Journalism & Media Studies from the prestigious Rutgers University. He's currently studying entertainment and fashion law.