The house was founded in 1945 by the late Madame Carven, the French couturier who traveled the world with her collections. 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.

Carven underwent a renaissance under Sebaoun and the former artistic director Guillaume Henry, who positioned it as a contemporary brand.

After Henry moved to Nina Ricci, the brand initially named Alexis Martial and Adrien Caillaudaud as artistic directors for the women’s collections, and Barnabé Hardy for men’s.

The company, which was “already fragile,” was hit to the tune of several million euros by a delay in the production of its spring 2018 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. Continue reading →