Oh my gosh please choose Alessandra for Rochas!!
We already know that she's a very talented designer,but also quite unlucky...she needs to experiment new things
Alessandra's designs suit very well the aesthetic of the brand...very romantic and feminine clothes
Everybody knows that she can't do wrong at rochas
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What does everyone think? To be honest, I'm a little miffed...why close the house if you plan on opening it 3 years later. Rochas would have only grown. Now you've lost Olivier, and he really made Rochas important again...he was Rochas (more so than he is Nina Ricci, if you ask me). I think a new designer will basically have to reinvent Rochas all over again, like Olivier did, because there isn't really any historical Rochas 'image.' Olivier basically invented the modern Rochas, and the new designer should not copy Theyskens work or even be that similar to it.
Who do you think should take the designing helm? Who do you think actually will?
I personally hope Alessandra Facchinetti gets the job...she deserves a good position and I think Rochas would be a great place for her...she has a very light, airy, feminine and romantic point of view that I feel could fit extremely well with Rochas. I would guess, though, that the head designer will be someone more unknown...someone who's been working behind the scenes for the most part.
i think it was a smart decision from P&G to close the house. some people speculated that it wasnt profitable, and it was all about theyskens work or whatever...
i know people from the finance management team in the fragances and beauty products division at P&G and i know that was not at all the case.
as it's been said, procter decided to stop producing the line because fashion was just not their thing... they know nothing about the fashion industry, and they just didnt wanna mess with it. both in respect to the house, and above all because they very rarely get into anything where they are not the leading company of the sector.
three years later seems perfect timing for the house to come back... i would say people are rather happy with theyskens work at ricci (a bit more accessible, no?), and i really think it'd be a great time for someone to start building the whole brand again.
daydreaming, alessandra is a perfect fit for the house. rochas exudes delicacy, elegance, refinement... AND it's also one of those demi-couture houses (of the likes of balmain but without the rockstar vibe, or nina ricci maybe) that produce extremely high end pieces, small volume of production, and sky-rocket prices (... whic may seem a bit contradictory but it's a key to success in times of crisis)
can't wait to hear more about this
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Yes borja makes an excellent point, the fashion houses/lines that will continue to be profitable during times of economic crises are the ones charging sky high prices. The people at the top who can afford such things, generally, are the ones who still have the money during such times and are less affected than others. I remember reading an article just the other day about the increasing number of megayachts being purchased and how yacht production is 2 - 3 years behind demand.
That said, a house's bread and butter is it's accessories/beauty/fragrance and not its pretty gowns. And it's the middle to upper class people who purchase those items and they certainly will be reigning back on what they ware spending their money on. It's interesting. I still think it's a weird time to announce this.
Educo - I'm surprised by what you say since I'm under the impression that it's not too often that the head designer is the one sewing all the stuff together. So are you saying that Theskiens often produced the the dresses himself and the other seamstresses couldn't replicate his work?
^ I think what educo was saying is that the samples that were made in the Rochas atelier by the highly trained seamstresses were so intricate or rarefied in their execution that they couldn't reproduce them, either as well or at all, when it came time to start manufacturing the clothes for retail.
And this does sound a bit iffy. I'm pretty sure that licenscing isn't the norm with high end ready-to-wear, at least not for clothes (sunglasses, jeans lines, Pierre Cardin polo shirts, etc. are licensce territory).
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All I want to do is fur pants, but I know, like, if I do them I'll get stoned off of Seventh Avenue like some kind of wanton heretic or something. So there won't be any fur pants coming down my runway - Isaaz Mizrahi my blog - random musings of a fashion fiend
And this does sound a bit iffy. I'm pretty sure that licenscing isn't the norm with high end ready-to-wear, at least not for clothes (sunglasses, jeans lines, Pierre Cardin polo shirts, etc. are licensce territory).
you'd be surprised, it's slowly becoming more and more common
^ my guess is we are not used to associate licensing with high end rtw because normally a fashion label gives license to produce let's say sunglasses, to another company that knows how to do that. that has the skills and infrastructure necessary.
The case of Rochas though is quite peculiar. As it is owned by Procter and Gamble, it's probably the only fashion label that doesnt know how to do... garments?
licensing in a way seems like a strategy so as not to lose the industrial property that represents the name, but at the same time make some more profit out of it, other than the fragances.
it could also be that they are not allowed to fully sell the company, maybe they just dont wanna stand the risk of going into a whole new industry on their own in the present economic scenario
when i say that they are not allowed i am thinking some sort of contractual clause in the merging (or absorption) with the wella group that doesnt allow them to separate Rochas from the rest, no?
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Last edited by borjacapella : 07-10-2008 at 05:51 PM.
Rochas had been slumbering for so long that Olivier made it 'his' in the time he spent designing for the house... There was really nothing to work from, no atelier, no archive, no one to tell about the heritage of the name - much similar as with Vionnet, which is again slumbering after an insuccessful relaunch, but different also in that he managed to define a very recognizable and acclaimed vision of a Rochas look, instead of what happened at Vionnet where they couldn't keep either Audibet or Kokosalaki.
With these old houses it's a difficult mission to re-establish an identity unless it is being done with proper resources - especially since the names and associations with couture excellence are there. it's difficult to deliver authenticy if the actual clothes are being made in association with an Italian mid-scale designer goods factory and not by specialist suppliers. It's certain that whoever is getting the job will have to prove himself against Olivier's bar, which is set incredibly high and far out of reach for anyone free on the market.
The brand to relaunch ready-to-wear, former Halston designer in talks to design
Tuesday, October 07, 2008 (NEW YORK) Olivier Theyskens may have moved on to Nina Ricci, but it appears that Procter & Gamble brass are feeling nostalgic for a bit of Rochas ready-to-wear. The company has announced that it will grant a licensing agreement to Italian manufacturer Gibo Co. SpA. The agreement, according to the Wall Street Journal, will cover ready-to-wear apparel under the Rochas brand. The first collection will be presented in March 2009. The Daily has learned exclusively that Marco Zanini, most recently of Halston, is in talks to design the collection. After a long tenure as Donatella Versace's deputy women's wear designer, Zanini was named designer at Halston in January 2007, when the brand relaunched. He left the company in July. Emails to Gibo representatives were not returned by press time.
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All I want to do is fur pants, but I know, like, if I do them I'll get stoned off of Seventh Avenue like some kind of wanton heretic or something. So there won't be any fur pants coming down my runway - Isaaz Mizrahi my blog - random musings of a fashion fiend
I almost feel like P&G are only starting up the RTW so that it creates a more complete brand identity, something needed to sell more perfume. Licensing it out is the perfect way to keep costs and risk down. So many high end labels now are licensing out lines they view as non-essential.
If I were Gibo I'd opt for a young unknown talent with a clear vision rather than someone who has any baggage.
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