NEW YORK — Stacey DiPersia has joined Cynthia Steffe Inc. as president of the brand.
She replaces Richard Roberts, Cynthia Steffe’s husband, who left the fi rm with Steffe in December when the designer parted ways with the brand’s parent, Bernard Chaus Inc., after three years. Chaus purchased Steffe’s fi rm from LF Brands, which had folded, for an estimated $5 million in January 2004.
“The opportunity came up and I simply couldn’t pass it up,” DiPersia said on Wednesday. “I see this as a very exciting time for the company and I think that my taste level and experience in the industry will bring a lot to the table.”
She said there would be no immediate changes at the firm.
DiPersia joined Steffe on Monday from Generra, where she had been president since November 2005. At Steffe, DiPersia is overseeing operations, product development, merchandising and sales. She reports to Josephine Chaus, chief executive offi cer of Bernard Chaus.
Before Generra, DiPersia was senior vice president of merchandising and product development at Donna Karan International.
Even without Steffe and Roberts at the helm, Chaus plans to increase the Steffe business from what industry sources estimate is a $24 million wholesale operation. The fi rm will showcase the fall line, the fi rst without Steffe’s involvement, in a fashion show on Tuesday at Exit Art here. The company has not named a new creative director, but executives confi rmed the fall line was designed by the Steffe design team with the aid of Waleed Khairzada, a design consultant.