EXCLUSIVE: Lancel Taps ‘Riverdale’ Actress Lili Reinhart as Brand Ambassador
PARIS — French leather goods brand Lancel hosted a cocktail at its historic store across from the Paris Opera on Thursday to celebrate the announcement of its new brand ambassador, Lili Reinhart.
The “Riverdale” star, dressed in a black vintage Valentino skirt suit with gold buttons, toured the stations where craftspeople demonstrated how they stitch and finish the bags, filming some of the action on her phone. She gamely ran through a gamut of poses with her white Ninon handbag, which also features in one of the campaign images shot by Peter Ash Lee.
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“I can’t work with a company or a brand unless I actually would wear or use their product in real life,” the U.S. actress told WWD. Reinhart, who flew in from Vancouver and was heading back to Los Angeles, said she favors dinky styles. “I’m a minimalist. These days I definitely carry around a smaller bag on the day to day, but I like a big bag for the airport.”
Founded in 1876, Lancel is a household name in France but is less well-known in the U.S., where it doesn’t have a presence. The brand’s most high-profile campaign to date was in 2008 and featured Isabelle Adjani, who also designed a bag for the house.
“Being, obviously, in the industry, I’m exposed to a lot of designers that I otherwise wouldn’t have been, so I had heard of the brand, but I didn’t know how well-known it was in France,” Reinhart noted. “I appreciate the history of it, so that’s kind of what inspired me, and that it’s French and it’s not, maybe, a partnership that people would expect me to do.”
Acquired in 2018 by Italian accessories and luggage company Piquadro SpA, Lancel has stores in countries including China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Croatia and Greece, said the brand’s recently appointed managing director Francesco Pesci.
“I believe it’s the first time that Lancel has an international brand ambassador,” he said. “This decision is part of the strategy to rejuvenate the brand and also to develop the brand internationally.”
Most of Lancel’s customers, particularly in its domestic market, are aged between 35 and 45, but a growing number are in the 25 to 35 age bracket, he noted. That generation is increasingly sensitive to social values, making Reinhart — who has been vocal about issues including mental health and body image — a particularly good fit, according to Pesci.
The star, who plays Betty Cooper on “Riverdale,” was fresh off the premiere of the final season of the CW teen drama, which is streamed worldwide on Netflix. The brand had decked out the store with fragrant lilies in her honor, though Reinhart revealed she wasn’t named after the flower, but after the actress Lili Taylor.
The event went off without a hitch, despite coinciding with another round of nationwide protests against the French government’s pension reform. Perhaps it was down to the lucky charm in Reinhart’s handbag. “I keep usually a crystal with me, some sort of crystal for good energy,” she said with a smile.
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