Giambattista Valli x Seven For All Mankind
Seven For All Mankind tapped Paris-based designer Giambattista Valli for a spring collaboration. Look out for high-waisted jeans and dressy T-shirts in lipstick shades and animal prints. The co-branded collection is slated to be delivered in two installments, one in mid-February and in May to freestanding Seven For All Mankind stores and to select wholesalers. This will bring Valli’s style to a wider audience at a more affordable price point. “It’s an opportunity to offer a unique, fresh point of view to our customer,” said Barry Miguel, president of Seven For All Mankind. “Mr. Valli resonates with an international audience. He’s a leader right now in his segment if you think about the new world of designer and couture.” The collection will be entirely made in Italy with Italian fabrics.
Ralph Rucci Exits His Own Fashion House
The owners of Ralph Rucci LLC stated that Ralf Rucci has left the fashion house he founded and is leaving “to pursue other creative endeavors,” although the firm did not say what those endeavors are or why Rucci decided to suddenly exit. “We recognize the contribution, vision and talent of Mr. Rucci, and wish him well,” said Joey Laurenti, Ralph Rucci LLC’s chief executive officer, who declined further comment.
Whether the house can survive without Ralph Rucci will be a big question. Rucci has repeatedly attempted to grow his company, several years ago bringing in Jeffry Aronsson as CEO, and an investor to open stores and sign licensing deals. He even tapped Steven Meisel to shoot his first major advertising campaign, which was unusually edgy for a designer equated with chic minimalism. But while Rucci has long had a loyal following, he has often struggled financially, at one point severely reducing the staff at his fashion house.
A new creative director will be named before the end of the year. The pre-fall and fall 2015 collections will be designed by the in-house team, and the first collection by the new talent will be for resort 2016.
American Apparel Charges Widen Q3 Loss
American Apparel Inc. widened its third-quarter loss on one-time charges, including legal and consulting fees related to the internal investigation into founder Dov Charney. For the three months ended Sept. 30, the net loss widened to $19.2 million, or 11 cents, from a net loss of $1.5 million, or 1 cent, a year ago. Impacting the bottom line were one-time charges such as the $5.3 million in legal and consulting fees in connection with the suspension and internal probe of Charney, who was suspended from his president and chairman posts. American Apparel Inc. is also disputing a $4.4 million payment that it had to pay in the quarter assessed by German authorities for retroactive punitive customs duty assessments of $5.4 million for goods imported from 2009 to 2011 and paid $3.1 million in previously disclosed employment-related claims.
–Carol Calacci
Source and Photo: WWD
