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Hervé Léger

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Hervé Léger
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryFashion
Founded1985; 39 years ago (1985)
FounderHervé Peugnet
Headquarters
France
ProductsFashion designs
ParentAuthentic Brands Group
Websiteherveleger.com

Hervé Léger (French pronunciation: [ɛʁve leʒe]) is a French fashion house that was founded by the designer Hervé Peugnet, who was also known as Hervé L. Leroux. As of 2023, the creative director is American designer Michelle Ochs.[1]

History

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Hervé Léger was founded in 1985 by the designer Hervé Peugnet (1957–2017). That same year, Karl Lagerfeld advised Peugnet that his surname would be too difficult for Americans (the target market) to pronounce, and he suggested the surname Léger instead.[2] Having lost the rights to the Hervé Léger name, Peugnet later took a third "brand" name as Hervé L. Leroux in 2000.[3]

As early as 1982, however, the fashion press was already referring to Peugnet as Hervé Léger, as that was the year he gained international attention for leading a design team at Chanel that revamped the Chanel silhouette,[4] a year before Karl Lagerfeld took over the house. Peugnet had previously worked as an assistant to Lagerfeld and was likely influenced by Lagerfeld in his 1982 reworking of the Chanel look,[5][6][7][8] a reworking that bore hallmarks of the body-conscious trend of the time, a trend followed by a number of eighties designers beginning in the late seventies, including Lagerfeld,[9] Peugnet, Thierry Mugler,[10][11] and (most famously) Azzedine Alaïa,[12][13][14] to whom Peugnet's work would frequently be compared in the future. Peugnet altered the Chanel silhouette by broadening the shoulder,[15] shortening the jacket,[16] shortening and tightening the skirt,[17][18][19] raising the heel height,[20][21][22] and increasing the scale of the jewelry and purses,[23][24][25] all controversial moves initially.[26][27]

A model walking the runway at Hervé Leger Fall/Winter 2014 show at New York Fashion Week, February 2014

Along with Azzedine Alaïa, who had introduced the style by 1985,[28][29] Peugnet pioneered the creation of so-called bandage dresses, so-called "body-con" (body-conscious) garments made using materials traditionally associated with foundation garments to create bandage dresses that would mold and shape the wearer's figure with its signature bandage-like strips.

One of the peculiarities of Hervé Léger garments is that they are knitted, not woven.[30]

In September 1998, Hervé Léger was acquired by the BCBG Max Azria Group from the Seagram's Group. This was the first-ever acquisition of a French couturier by an American designer, though Azria is Tunisian[31] and grew up in France. Ohana & Co., a boutique investment bank, advised Seagram's on the sale.

In April 2007, Max Azria relaunched the Hervé Léger brand under his own design direction with a capsule summer collection, which was offered at select department stores and specialty boutiques. In August 2007, the remodeled Hervé Léger boutique opened on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. In February 2008, Max Azria presented the Hervé Léger by Max Azria collection at Bryant Park during the Fall 2008 New York Fashion Week.

In August 2017, Marquee Brands acquired the entire brand portfolio of BGBG Max Azria Global Holdings, including Hervé Léger, following the bankruptcy of BCBG Max Azria.[32] In October 2017, Marquee Brands sold Hervé Léger to Authentic Brands Group.[33]

Dutch designer Christian Juul Nielsen, who previously worked at Christian Dior Couture and Nina Ricci, was appointed creative director in August 2018.[34] His focus was on modernizing and expanding the brand image beyond the bandage dress into daywear and lifestyle categories.

In 2023 the brand appointed Michelle Ochs, cofounder of Cushnie et Ochs, as the creative director.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Benissan, Ezreen (12 June 2023). "Michelle Ochs Joins Hervé Léger to Revive the Bandage Dress Brand". Vogue. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  2. ^ Hervé L. Leroux escamote Hervé Léger 8 June 2000 "Il y a quinze ans, alors qu'il travaillait avec Karl Lagerfeld, aux tout premiers temps de la collaboration du couturier avec Chanel, Hervé Léger s'appelait encore Hervé Peugnet. Un nom imprononçable pour les Américains. Karl Lagerfeld lui suggère vivement d'en changer pour quelque chose de plus léger: «Pourquoi pas Hervé Léger?» Le temps de s'habituer à ce nouveau patronyme et le voilà qui fait son chemin et file vers la gloire en se forgeant une réputation grâce à ses fameuses robes bandelettes qui emballent si bien Karen Mulder, Naomi Campbell et les stars hollywoodiennes."
  3. ^ Clinton, Leah Melby. "The History of the Bandage Dress, From 1994 to Now". Glamour. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  4. ^ Morris, Bernadine (19 October 1982). "Givenchy and Chanel Excite Paris". The New York Times: C8. Retrieved 4 April 2022. The Chanel look...has been completely reproportioned.
  5. ^ "Reshaping the Classics at the House of Chanel". The New York Times: 116. 12 December 1982. Retrieved 4 April 2022. The reworking of the revered suit - not to mention the whole collection, which included some pretty suggestive evening gowns - was the work of three former young assistants to Karl Lagerfeld, the Paris-based internationally renowned designer. The chief contributor was 25-year-old Herve Leger...[R]umors persist that [Lagerfeld] was the eminence grise behind it.
  6. ^ Morris, Bernadine (19 October 1982). "Givenchy and Chanel Excite Paris". The New York Times: C8. Retrieved 4 April 2022. ...[I]t has been rumored that [Lagerfeld] had something to do with the ready-to-wear presented this morning as part of the spring and summer showings here. Two former assistants, Herve Leger and Eva Compocassi, are actually credited with the clothes.
  7. ^ McCall, Patricia (17 October 1982). "Paris: Hourglass Figuring". The New York Times: 75. Retrieved 4 April 2022. ...Chanel's ready-to-wear is now in the hands of Herve Leger, who worked with Lagerfeld at Fendi in Rome, and Eva Campocasso, who was a Lagerfeld assistant at Chloe.
  8. ^ Morris, Bernadine (22 March 1983). "Valentino Shines in Paris Amid Strong French Shows". The New York Times: C12. Retrieved 4 April 2022. ...[T]he House of Chanel...is in the hands of two young designers, Herve Leger and Marianne Oudin...Both are proteges of Karl Lagerfeld...
  9. ^ Donovan, Carrie (6 May 1979). "American Designers Come of Age". The New York Times: 254. Retrieved 1 December 2021. It was Lagerfeld who originally introduced the current silhouette of broad shoulders, nipped waist, curvy hip and short skirt.
  10. ^ Morris, Bernadine (21 September 1982). "Notes on Fashion". The New York Times. p. B1. Retrieved 13 December 2021. ...[H]ow explain the resurgence of short, tight skirts, body-cupping knitted dresses, spindly heels and other constricting clothes...[f]avored by...such designers as Azzedine Alaia, Thierry Mugler and Claude Montana[?]...
  11. ^ Mulvagh, Jane (1988). "1976-1986". Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion. London, England: Viking, the Penguin Group. p. 345. ISBN 0-670-80172-0. The overt sexuality of Mugler's clothes was upstaged by his close friend Azzedine Alaïa...
  12. ^ Hyde, Nina (28 March 1985). "YSL, Robust and Refined High Hemlines for His Paris Show". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 March 2022. Azzedine Alaïa['s]...carefully carved-out dresses and skirts...fitted so close to the body that there's barely enough room for underwear underneath...[Alaïa's] thin jersey dress...seemed glued onto [the model's] body.
  13. ^ Luther, Marylou (24 October 1985). "Fashion". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 March 2022. The designer who started the fashion world's fit over fit, Azzedine Alaia...
  14. ^ Cunningham, Bill (1 September 1987). "Follies to Futurism". Details. VI (3). New York, NY: Details Publishing Corp.: 125. ISSN 0740-4921. Alaïa['s]...designs...follow and define the wearer's torso with structural welt seaming."
  15. ^ "Reshaping the Classics at the House of Chanel". The New York Times: 116. 12 December 1982. Retrieved 4 April 2022. The...shoulders have been pushed out and padded.
  16. ^ Morris, Bernadine (19 October 1982). "Givenchy and Chanel Excite Paris". The New York Times: C8. Retrieved 4 April 2022. The jackets are all shortened - they barely clear the waistline...
  17. ^ "Reshaping the Classics at the House of Chanel". The New York Times: 116. 12 December 1982. Retrieved 4 April 2022. The skirt has been narrowed and the hem hiked up to an above-the-knee level.
  18. ^ Morris, Bernadine (19 October 1982). "Givenchy and Chanel Excite Paris". The New York Times: C8. Retrieved 4 April 2022. The Chanel...skirts have been shortened...Now they clear the knees....[T]he skirts are not only short but tight, causing the models to mince and wriggle rather than stride down the runway.
  19. ^ Morris, Bernadine (22 March 1983). "Valentino Shines in Paris Amid Strong French Shows". The New York Times: C12. Retrieved 4 April 2022. Hemlines barely cleared the knee, instead of descending two inches below as the late Gabrielle Chanel preferred and skirts were considerably skimpier.
  20. ^ "Reshaping the Classics at the House of Chanel". The New York Times: 116. 12 December 1982. Retrieved 4 April 2022. ...slingback pumps revamped with a pointier toe and higher, curvier heel...
  21. ^ Morris, Bernadine (19 October 1982). "Givenchy and Chanel Excite Paris". The New York Times: C8. Retrieved 4 April 2022. ...[T]he black-toe pumps have greatly elevated heels...
  22. ^ Morris, Bernadine (22 March 1983). "Valentino Shines in Paris Amid Strong French Shows". The New York Times: C12. Retrieved 4 April 2022. The famous two-toned pumps were there..., though with higher, spindlier heels...
  23. ^ "Reshaping the Classics at the House of Chanel". The New York Times: 116. 12 December 1982. Retrieved 4 April 2022. ...[T]he quilted handbags stretched to new proportions. And the famous faux gold chains and pearls are poured on with a profusion that even Mlle. Chanel, a prodigious piler-oner of jewels herself, would never have suggested.
  24. ^ Morris, Bernadine (19 October 1982). "Givenchy and Chanel Excite Paris". The New York Times: C8. Retrieved 4 April 2022. The famous quilted Chanel handbag has been enlarged to portfolio size...[N]ever have [Chanel's chains and pearls] been so massive. Rows of gold chains not only hang around the neck, but around the hips and wrists as well.
  25. ^ Morris, Bernadine (22 March 1983). "Valentino Shines in Paris Amid Strong French Shows". The New York Times: C12. Retrieved 4 April 2022. ...[T]he quilted leather handbags...were almost suitcase size.
  26. ^ "Reshaping the Classics at the House of Chanel". The New York Times: 116. 12 December 1982. Retrieved 4 April 2022. ...[T]he reaction of the professional buyers and press was decidedly mixed....Bernadine Morris...said the 'Chanel look has been vulgarized'...
  27. ^ Morris, Bernadine (19 October 1982). "Givenchy and Chanel Excite Paris". The New York Times: C8. Retrieved 4 April 2022. ...[T]he look sometimes appears to be a parody of itself...Quiet, unassuming clothes have been transformed into fairly arrogant styles. The Chanel look has been vulgarized...
  28. ^ Collins, Amy Fine (23 August 2012). "The Figure-Sculpting Fashions of Azzedine Alaïa". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 4 April 2022. ...Alaïa won two French fashion 'Oscars' in 1985, surrounded by a bevy of supermodels in his mummy-inspired bandage dress...
  29. ^ Luther, Marylou (24 October 1985). "Fashion". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 April 2022. ...Azzedine Alaia...has some new viscose knit dresses for spring that are well on their way to becoming the choicest bondage clothes of the year. They lace up the side of the body in a kind of latticed openwork that bares just the right amount of skin in just the right places.
  30. ^ "The History of the Bandage Dress, from 1994 to Now". 23 September 2015.
  31. ^ "LA brands BCBG Max Azria and Hervé Léger plan London expansion". Evening Standard. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  32. ^ Basu, Papiya (2 August 2017). "Marquee acquires clothing brands BCBGMAXAZRIA, BCBGeneration, Herve Leger". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  33. ^ Young, Vicki M. (27 October 2017). "ABG Acquires the Hervé Léger Brand". WWD. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  34. ^ Fitzgerald, Benjamin (31 August 2018). "Hervé Léger names Christian Juul Nielsen creative director". FashionNetwork.com. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
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