LVMH: Felipe Oliveira Baptista departs Kenzo while Kris Van Assche exits Berluti
Kenzo and Berluti, two brands housed by Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), are bidding goodbye to the its creative directors Felipe Oliveira Baptista and Kris Van Assche, respectively.
Through an Instagram post, Portuguese fashion designer Felipe Oliveira Baptista announced his move to step down as Kenzo’s artistic director after three years of contract. “I will step down from my role of artistic director of Kenzo on the 30th of June 2021, last day of my contract with the house. I have been honoured to serve this amazing house and the extraordinary legacy of its founder Kenzo Takada,” Felipe expressed in a statement. “I would like to thank my teams, the atelier and everyone involved for their talent and dedication. I would also like to thank all the extremely creative talents that worked with us on this incredible journey,”.
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The designer took over as creative director of Kenzo in 2019 from Humberto Leon and Carol Lim. Felipe’s successor has yet to be announced by the brand in the coming weeks.
Aside from Kenzo, Berluti, another luxury house under the umbrella of LVMH, is also bidding goodbye to its artistic director, Kris Van Assche. The Belgian designer who led brand’s menswear collections since 2018 has announced his exit as well through an Instagram post. Kris shared: “These 3 years at Berluti have been extremely intense. Reinventing and reshaping the brand’s DNA, it’s history and tradition, craft and luxury in a contemporary and creative manner was definitely a challenge, and all limitations and restrictions around COVID didn’t help.”
Like Felipe, he also thanked his team, “So I want to express endless gratitude to my creative team for always delivering miracles, no matter what. You know what you did, how you had to do it, and you can be proud. I am sure proud of you, us.”
Kris did not only thank his team but the house as well for the lessons he absorbed from the brand stating, “While Berluti will be taking a new approach to its collections and calendar, I feel grateful for all I have learned and look forward to what the future holds for me.” The designer confirmed that Berluti will no longer be releasing any collection under his tenure. Also, Kris claimed that his position has yet to be filled.
Catch his latest collection with Berluti, “Living Apart Together,” via this link.
Images from Vogue
This article first appeared in Manila Bulletin
