Curious to know just who is the”majority shareholder” behind Alber Elbaz’s scandalous exit from Lanvin? The Daily unearths some truths about Shaw-Lan Wang…
BY NATASHA SILVA-JELLY
She’s actually a journalist…
But totally media shy. Wang’s lain low since the sacking and rarely does interviews. A trained journalist, she owns United Daily News (a Taiwanese newspaper owned first by her father and where she cut her teeth).
She bought Lanvin and promptly hired Elbaz…
Wang purchased a majority stake in the French house from L’Oréal in 2001 and hired Elbaz, who had just been ousted from YSL. “She took a chance on me when others wouldn’t. The fashion world is fickle, which doesn’t mean I have to be,” the designer told the New York Times in 2005.
She sacked him 14 years later…
The designer confirmed publicly he was “pushed out of the company” and that it was “the decision of the company’s majority shareholder.”
She doesn’t do fashionistas…
Other than the front row at Lanvin, she avoids fashion events, telling the FT, “I don’t like those kind of people or those kind of parties. I am not a jet-set person.”
She’s pissed off the French—big time…
Lanvin employees promptly revolted at Elbaz’s axing, and according to intel the French employee works council has summonsed Wang to Paris (she lives in Taiwan) so they can air their concerns about the staff exodus. Not only that, French culture minister turned head of the Institut du Monde Arabe Jack Lang hailed Elbaz a “national treasure” and declared in a newspaper, “To cut the wings of this exceptional talent in this way makes me very sad and angry.”
She loves a spreadsheet…
Prior to his departure, Elbaz had alluded to the pressure to produce the numbers, and the French work council stated that the brand was set to post a loss for the first time since 2007. Wang is also rumored to be considering selling the company (of which Elbaz still owns a stake).
She’s 73 and adores a statement accessory…
Her uniform is the traditional Chinese qipao and OTT jewelry (piled on pearl strands and bold brooches).
