PARIS — Carven on Thursday revealed the departure of creative director Louise Trotter.
“On January 24, Louise Trotter will close this chapter with us,” the fashion brand said on Instagram. “Every ending is a new beginning. Best wishes to all of our creative peers.”
The announcement of her departure comes after WWD reported that Bottega Veneta has selected Trotter to succeed Matthieu Blazy, himself a top contender for the top job as Chanel’s new fashion creative director. On Friday, the Italian luxury company and its parent, Kering Group, had no comment on the speculation.
The British designer joined Carven, which is owned by Shanghai and Paris-based fashion company ICCF Group, in February 2023.
At the time, Carven’s chief executive officer Shawna Tao described Trotter as the “perfect candidate to revive the house.”
“We intend to change everything — the stores, the logo, everything,” Trotter told WWD in a preview ahead of her debut show. Raring as she was to get going on this new chapter, “the point of view is that I want to build this quite carefully and slowly,” she said.
Her first collection for the brand bowed in September last year during Paris Fashion Week, reigniting the label with her quietly sensual designs.
The spring 2025 collection, shown in September in the label’s studio above its historic boutique at the foot of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, is her last.
Trotter’s successor at Carven could not be immediately learned.
Before Carven, Trotter held the same position for four years at Lacoste.
Trotter studied fashion design at Newcastle University and worked at contemporary British label Whistles before moving Stateside to design for Calvin Klein, and later Gap and Tommy Hilfiger.
She returned to London for a stint at Jigsaw and then served as creative director of Joseph from 2009 to 2018, a period of product diversification and international expansion for the brand.