“It was definitely a very, very significant period for clothing,” says Lanvin designer Peter Copping of the 1920s. “So liberating. It’s probably where modern fashion’s roots really come from.”
Indeed, it’s easy to argue that the 1920s were the most transformational decade in modern fashion—when corsets were abandoned en masse, silhouettes were streamlined into glittering Deco-like cylinders, and women won the right to vote in America. Comparing our present decade to the Jazz Age is a common refrain, and lately it feels like there might be something in that. Last year not only marked 100 years of Art Deco and The Great Gatsby, but there’s been renewed energy at Copping’s Lanvin (where he’s been artistic director since September 2024) and Mathieu Blazy’s Chanel—houses that defined the Roaring Twenties style a century ago.
With such history at their fingertips, it’s no wonder that both designers have been mining the brands’ rich legacies. (Blazy, for one, recently showed a Chanel resort show that opened with his take on the infamous LBD, which Vogue dubbed “fashion’s Ford” back in 1926.) Copping—who has worked at Sonia Rykiel, Louis Vuitton, Oscar de la Renta, Nina Ricci, and Balenciaga—has been infusing his Lanvin with deep dives into the archive and finding inspiration in other historical touchpoints, such as furniture and interior design.
While in Savannah for the SCAD graduation show, I had the chance to sit down with Copping, who has served as the school’s designer-in-residence for the class of 2026. Among other things, we talked about the enduring appeal of Deco, his first foray into menswear, and how he worked with six students who designed Lanvin-inspired looks. “You can’t underestimate how important it is,” he said of his time mentoring the students.
Do you find that the 1920s were a watershed moment for women’s fashion?
It was definitely a very, very significant period for clothing—so liberating. It’s probably where modern fashion’s roots really come from, especially with what Chanel was doing at the time. Jeanne Lanvin really looked at it in terms of a modern way of dressing. She was very much into the visual: decoration and embroidery. She had two embroidery ateliers—rather than working with Lesage or other embroiderers of the time, she wanted it all in-house. That’s great because it’s left us with a really good archive. We have all their swatches.
