Kering holding company Artemis acquires Courrèges

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Sep 18, 2018

Kering holding company Artemis is now the owner of Courrèges. FashionNetwork.com first reported the existence of negotiations between the fashion house's previous owners and Artemis at the end of 2017 – and now the deed is done. The Pinault family's investment firm, which holds 40.9% of Kering's shares and over 55% of voting rights, has acquired a 100% stake in the French brand, of which it previously owned 40%. 

The information, first revealed by WWD, has since been confirmed to FashionNetwork.com by Artemis. The iconic brand of the 60s and 70s, founded in 1961 by André Courrèges and his wife Coqueline, has indeed been sold for an undisclosed sum by Jacques Bungert and Frédéric Torloting, the duo of publicists who acquired the label in 2011 with plans to relaunch it. 
 
Renowned for its futurist style and its clean geometric designs, Courrèges made a successful return to the Parisian catwalk in September 2015, under the creative direction of Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant, who won over audiences with a debut collection that was fresh and contemporary. Following the initial hype, however, the brand's relaunch never really managed to get off the ground, particularly abroad where the label is less well known. 

Courrèges began restructuring last year and has since had to make significant staff cuts and abandon its historic production site in Pau. At the beginning of this year, the brand also initiated a comprehensive reorganisation process, naming Christina Ahlers, who previously served for 12 years in international development at Acne Studios, as its new CEO. 

Soon after, Courrèges hired Yolanda Zobel as its new creative director. The designer, who has German heritage through her jewel designer father and French roots through her mother, specialises in women's ready-to-wear and will present her first collection for Spring/Summer 2019 at a much-anticipated show on Wednesday, 26th September, during Paris Fashion Week. 

Having studied fashion in Berlin, the young designer who "grew up in a family of artists in Germany", cut her teeth at Giorgio Armani in 1999. She then went on to work on the womenswear collections at Chloé, Jil Sander and Acne Studios, where she met fellow German Christina Ahlers.