France’s oldest couture house has named Siddhartha Shukla, Theory’s chief marketing officer and chief merchant, to be its new deputy general manger.

Shukla will lead activities including business development, product strategy, digital excellence and brand positioning, Lanvin said in a statement.

He’ll report to the brand’s chairwoman Joann Cheng and work alongside Grace Zhao, Deputy GM for Asia.Lanvin was acquired by Chinese conglomerate Fosun in 2018.

While the group has little track record managing high fashion brands, it is trying to leverage its expertise and connections in the key Chinese market to get Lanvin back on its feet following a period of rapidly declining sales since the exit of designer Alber Elbaz in 2015.

The brand, which operates 18 stores and four outlets, depends heavily on wholesale and is best known for its occasion-wear — meaning both its key sales channel and product category have taken a heavy hit since the pandemic.

Shukla succeeds Arnaud Bazin, a veteran merchandising executive at Chanel and Dior, who joined Lanvin in the deputy GM role just last September.

Learn more:

What’s Next for Lanvin Group?

The Chinese firm that owns Lanvin, Sergio Rossi, St. John Knits and Wolford could be eyeing an IPO after recently rebranding as Lanvin Group.