It has only been a month since Gideon Oberson left Gottex as head of design to pursue other interests, but a replacement, Molly Grad, has already been named. It really makes you wonder why it is taking Barney’s New York over a year and counting to appoint a new CEO.
Grad, who graduated from London’s Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (both undergraduate and graduate degrees), has previously worked at Stella McCartney and Yves Saint Laurent, and was most recently a senior designer at Gianfranco Ferré. The designer will be based in London, and her first Spring 2010 collection for Gottex will be shown during New York Fashion Week in September.
In other designer news, Reed Krakoff, who has been working in fashion for over 20 years (he started as a designer at Polo Ralph) may serve as the inspiration for a brand of his own. Krakoff has been working at Coach since 1996 and Fashion Week Daily has learned that the American leather goods company is developing a new brand around Krakoff – “Reed,” “Reed Krakoff,” “RK” and two designated logos were all recently registered with the United States Patent and Trademark office.
A Coach spokesperson told the Daily that they always have new projects in development, but refused to get into any specifics about a Spring 2010 launch of a Reed Krakoff-inspired brand. That said, potential products for the range include personal care products, ready to wear and leather goods.
Images courtesy of the Fasion Spot forums.
