PEOPLE : Lanvin’s Top Designer Quits

Top designer Maryll Lanvin has quit the Lanvin fashion house, the second victim of a shake-up in French haute couture since a new generation of businessmen bought into the industry.

Maryll Lanvin, married to the nephew of Jeanne Lanvin, the founder of the house, cited personal reasons for leaving. But a Lanvin spokeswoman said the departure fit in with a reorganization masterminded by the house’s new British partners, Midland Bank.

Earlier this month, Marc Bohan, veteran designer of Christian Dior, was curtly dismissed after nearly 30 years with that house--seemingly no longer considered a major asset by young entrepreneur Bernard Arnault, whose luxury goods group LVMH owns Dior.

In his place came rising Italian star Gianfranco Ferre, whose ready-to-wear flair is likely to appeal to a wider market than Bohan’s forte--extravagantly expensive individual haute couture.