headquarters milan italy since 2009 key people goga ashkenazi hussein chalayan products luxury goods website www.vionnet.com vionnet is an haute couture label founded by the french couturier madeleine vionnet . established in 1912 the house of vionnet closed in 1939 before to be formally resurrected in 2006 . contents 1 the madeleine vionnet years 1.1 from 1912 to 1914 1.2 from 1919 to 1940 2 the sleeping years 3 the revival years 3.1 2006 2008 the lummen era 3.2 2009 2011 the marzotto era 3.3 since 2012 the ashkenazi era 4 references 5 external links the madeleine vionnet years edit from 1912 to 1914 edit the house of vionnet opened in 1912 at 222 rue de rivoli . madeleine vionnet provided one third of the financing while the remaining investment was supplied by one of her clients germaine lilas henri s lillas daughter the owner of the parisian department store bazar de l h tel de ville bhv . in 1914 when world war i started madeleine vionnet closed the house and set off to visit rome . from 1919 to 1940 edit in 1919 the house reopened after the war . mr. martinez de hoz an argentinian joined mr. lillas as main shareholder of the house . during the same period thayaht a futurist artist created vionnet s logo and started designing textiles clothing and jewelry for the house . in 1922 th ophile bader owner of the galeries lafayette joined current shareholders mr. de hoz and mr. lillas in a new venture called vionnet & cie and became the majority shareholder . 1 few months later on april 15 1923 vionnet s new premises opened at 50 avenue montaigne . 2 the so called temple of fashion a collaboration of architect ferdinand chanut decorator george de feure and crystal sculptor ren lalique incorporated a spectacular salon de pr sentation and two boutiques a fur salon and a lingerie salon . 1923 was a very active year for the house vionnet co founded the first anticopyist association l association pour la d fense des arts plastiques et appliqu s hosted in the house s premises and directed vionnet & cie s managing director ; vionnet introduced fingerprinted labels to authenticate models each garment produced in vionnet studios bears a label featuring vionnet s original signing and an imprint of vionnet s right thumb ; vionnet & cie entered into a distribution arrangement with charles and ray gutman who own charles & ray ladies tailors and importers in new york city . in november the first collection of vionnet clothing shown at charles and ray was an enormous success . in 1924 architect and designer boris lacroix was appointed art director of the house . from 1924 to 1937 he designed furniture logos printed textiles handbags accessories and took part in the planning of vionnet s perfumes . in the mid 1920s the house was extremely active in the usa . in 1924 vionnet & cie signed an exclusive production and distribution agreement with fifth avenue retail store hickson inc. in february 1924 the vionnet new york salon opened at hickson and an exclusive collection of gowns was presented . 3 4 in 1925 vionnet & cie was the first french couture house to open a subsidiary in new york madeleine vionnet inc. located at 661 fifth avenue . the salon sold one size fits all designs with unfinished hems to be adjusted to fit individual clients . vionnet also produced ready to wear designs for us wholesale . arguably the first pr t porter ever made from paris haute couture the garments bore a label signed by madeleine vionnet along with repeated original as a trademark name . during this time in france vionnet opened a salon in the grand casino at biarritz . in 1925 the house launched its first limited edition perfume comprising four fragrances named alphabetically a b c and d . the geometrical bottle was designed by boris lacroix while the scent was made in collaboration with the house of coty . in 1927 vionnet opened a school within her couture house to teach apprentices how to create clothing on the bias cut . in 1929 vionnet led the establishment of a new anticopyist association the p.a.i.s. directed by armand trouyet managing director of vionnet & cie. in 1932 the house acquired a new five storey building at 50 avenue montaigne housing 21 workshops along with a clinic equipped with both doctors and dentists and a gymnasium . at this time the house employed 1 200 seamstresses . vionnet was one of the most important parisian fashion houses of the 1930s . when world war ii approached a reorganization of the house was contemplated . eventually vionnet decided to close her house . on august 2 1939 madeleine vionnet showed her farewell collection . the sleeping years edit in 1952 years after the closing of her house madeleine vionnet donated most of her designs to the archives of the ufac today part of the mus e de la mode et du textile in paris including 120 dresses from 1921 to 1939 . in 1988 the vionnet label was acquired by the lummen family . the family kept a low profile approach avoiding new fashion collections and focusing on accessories and new perfumes launch of madeleine vionnet in 1996 and mv in 1998 . the revival years edit 2006 2008 the lummen era edit in july 2006 following years of speculations 5 arnaud de lummen ceo of the house announced a return on the fashion scene . 6 he promised a unique and genuine approach to bring forward the vionnet vision and not a simple revival . 7 sophia kokosalaki then at the peak of her fame was appointed creative director of the house . 8 9 a debut clothing collection was launched for spring summer 2007 the first vionnet clothing collection in 67 years . the first new collection was unveiled to the public in december 2006 within the us edition of vogue . 10 from early 2007 this first new vionnet collection became exclusively available in the house atelier in paris and within barneys new york flagship stores in the usa . 11 12 sophia kokosalaki designed one more collection for the label before to be replaced in may 2007 by marc audibet 13 in an unexpected move from the house . 14 marc audibet appointed as artistic advisor presented its sole and unique collection for the house in october 2007 . in her review of the collection suzy menkes fashion editor of the international herald tribune stated audibet has deeply understood the essence of madeleine vionnet . 15 from 2008 vionnet collabored with a pool of designers without revealing their identities . arnaud de lummen told women s wear daily that he wanted the focus to be on the label s expansion and not on the fame of its designers vionnet doesn t need to be associated with a designer s name it s an institution . 16 to support such expansion de lummen approached several investors and one of them matteo marzotto eventually became a buyer . 17 after initiating vionnet s revival and heading the relaunch house arnaud de lummen became an expert in reviving long dormant brands ; he initiated moynat s revival and acquired rights in sleeping beauty fashion brands such like paul poiret and mainbocher . 18 19 from 2006 to 2008 vionnet was established at 21 place vend me in the former premises of louise ch ruit and elsa schiaparelli . vionnet produced made in france demi couture collections closed to haute couture in the prices featured and the techniques and textiles used . vionnet involved historical partners of the house such as the couture embroiderer maison lesage . 2009 2011 the marzotto era edit on february 24 2009 matteo marzotto announced the acquisition of the label 20 and the creation of a new and independent structure in milan where vionnet is now operated . matteo marzotto former general manager and president of valentino spa is one of the heirs of the marzotto group a powerful textile group established in italy since 1836 . matteo marzotto also announced that some additional strategic development is to be provided by gianni castiglioni ceo of the fashion brand marni . rodolfo paglialunga formerly from prada became the new creative director of the house introducing his first new collection in october 2009 . in september 2011 vionnet announced that twin sisters barbara and lucia croce as creative directors replacing rodolfo paglialunga 21 in december 2011 vionnet unveiled its first directly owned stored in milan . 22 under the leadership of marzotto the list of celebrities dressed by vionnet included zoe saldana diane kruger madonna natalie portman carey mulligan emma watson hilary swank marion cotillard catherine zeta jones carey mulligan and cameron diaz . since 2012 the ashkenazi era edit in may 2012 kazakh russian businesswoman goga ashkenazi purchased a majority stake in the business 23 before to take full control of the label in november of the same year . 24 from august 2012 ashkenazi replaced the croce sisters and assumed the creative direction of the label . 25 in october 2012 she celebrated the 100 years of the brand with a demi couture collection paying homage to the house s signature design . 26 in early january 2014 vionnet announced to have tapped hussein chalayan to design the brand s demi couture line . 27 a first show took place on january 21 2014 . 28 at the same time vionnet launched an advertising campaign shot by jean paul goude . references edit florence brachet champsaur madeleine vionnet and galeries lafayette the unlikely marriage of a parisian couture house and a french department store 1922 40 business history vol . 54 1 2012 pp. 48 66 women s wear daily april 30 1923 women s wear daily february 19 1924 the new york times february 24 1924 vogue.com sophia at vionnet july 5 2006 dilaberto gioia august 27 2006 . revival of the fittest . the new york times t style magazine . v magazine born again spring 2007 the guardian kokosalaki takes the reins at vionnet july 7 2006 vogue.com sophia s confirmed july 13 2006 vogue goddess worship december 2006 p. 182 184 menkes suzy december 18 2006 . renaissance of vionnet a bias towards elegance . the new york times . vionnet s revival . the wall street journal . february 2 2007 . menkes suzy june 18 2007 . marc audibet to become design director at vionnet . the international herald tribune . vogue.com all change at vionnet killer may 22 2007 menkes suzy october 8 2007 . turnaround begins at vionnet . the new york times . vionnet brand setting stage for expansion . women s wear daily . february 20 2008 . a new chapter for vionnet . the business of fashion . february 24 2009 . arnaud de lummen fashion s brand reviver . women s wear daily . may 2 2012 . arnaud de lummen awakens vintage luxury brands from their slumber . financial times . september 26 2013 . vogue.com the vionnet story february 26 2009 vionnet taps croce sisters . women s wear daily . october 4 2011 . vionnet opens in milan . women s wear daily . december 16 2011 . vionnet gets new majority owner . women s wear daily . may 23 2012 . goga ashkenazi on vionnet s future . women s wear daily . november 8 2012 . vionnet confirms designers on leave . women s wear daily . august 28 2012 . vionnet celebrates 100 years in fashion . women s wear daily . october 1 2012 . hussein chalayan to design vionnet demi couture line . women s wear daily . january 3 2014 . hussein chalayan goes cutting edge for vionnet . women s wear daily . january 21 2014 .