Moynat names Nicholas Knightly as new creative director

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Jul 2, 2020

The storied house of Moynat has appointed Nicholas Knightly – the leather goods designer of Louis Vuitton – to be its new creative director. 

 
Knightly’s title will be Designer of the Maison. His first day in his new position was ON Wednesday, July 1.
 
“Nicholas Knightly will be responsible for the complete creative offer for leather goods. With his design team he will contribute to the continuing renewal of Moynat while at the same time working closely with the development teams,” the house said in a release.

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Since 2004, Knightly has been the Director of Design for Leather Goods at Louis Vuitton and before that, he worked at Mulberry. At Moynat, he will report to Sidney Toledano, Chairman, CEO of LVMH Fashion Group and President of Moynat, and to Lisa Attia, CEO of Moynat.
 
“Sidney Toledano and Lisa Attia join with all the teams to welcome Nicholas to Moynat and wish him every success in his new role,” the house said.
 
Attia, an LVMH veteran, joined Moynat in February after stints with beauty chain Sephora and department store Bon Marché.
 
Knightly, an Englishman and a graduate of Ravensbourne, the digital media and design university based in Greenwich, has a sterling reputation.  In size, Vuitton dwarfs Moynat, which has a notable flagship on the rue St Honoré in Paris and some 25 other boutiques worldwide. However, Moynat is widely seen as one of the pet projects of Europe’s richest man, Bernard Arnault. Moynat is owned not by his luxury conglomerate LVMH, but instead is directly controlled by family-owned Group Arnault.
 
A remarkable French marque that literally fell asleep, and stopped trading in the late '70s, before being brought back to life by luxury giant LVMH, Moynat, which began life in 1849, is known for making trunks for luxurious carriages. 
 
Knightly succeeds Ramesh Nair, who was appointed shortly after LVMH bought Moynat in 2010.
 
Nair “is leaving to pursue personal projects. We thank him for his contribution to the development of Moynat,” according to the release.
 
Nair, who joined Moynat from Hermès, developed the uber clean lines of Moynat’s Réjane, a Belle Époque-influenced bag named after actress Gabrielle Réjane, with a jewel-like lock; and the stately Gabrielle bag, with its distinctive flat 'M' clasp.
 
Most critics rated Nair’s performance highly; and the fact that he held this position for a decade testifies to his design skill and resourcefulness.