For Olivier Theyskens, 2006 was a year of dramatic highs and lows: His reign at Rochas ended with the house’s closing and Nina Ricci offering him a new beginning as creative director.
Not yet 30, the Belgian wunderkind found himself the latest victim of a tough industry last July when Rochas owner Procter & Gamble said it would shutter the money-losing fashion house and concentrate on its successful fragrance business.
The move, met with shock, affected about 30 workers and underscored how critical acclaim and media glory are not enough in a bottom-line-focused industry.
“Without the revenues of licenses of other categories, a collection business alone is almost impossible,” Robert Burke, founder of luxury consulting group Robert Burke Associates, commented at the time.
“It means that talent is not enough,” added Jean-Jacques Picart, a Paris consultant. “We must not forget our job is commerce.”
In explaining its decision, P&G, the Cincinnati maker of Tide detergent, Crest toothpaste and various beauty brands, said fashion was not its core competency.
“Running a fashion business in terms of the distribution chain requires specific skills,” a spokeswoman said at the time. “We had to make tough choices.”
Theyskens defended his three-year stint at Rochas, which became one of the must-see shows of Paris Fashion Week, while allowing that P&G made a “very pragmatic” decision to concentrate on its beauty holdings.
According to sources, P&G explored licensing the fashion business, but there was only interest in outright acquisition of the whole company. Puig Fashion Group, owner of the Ricci, Carolina Herrera and Paco Rabanne brands, had been among parties seeking to purchase, but P&G opted to hold onto the perfume business, which generates annual revenues estimated at $45 million to $75 million.
Still, it was clear Puig was keenly interested in the design prowess of Theyskens, and in September, the house named him its new creative director, succeeding Lars Nilsson. Theyskens is slated to unveil a Ricci pre-fall collection for a small audience in New York in January, followed by a full-scale runway show in Paris in March.
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“For quite a while, I had a feeling there were quite a few values in this brand which are also common to me, too,” the designer told WWD in his first interview since landing his new post, effective Nov. 1. “We are speaking about a symbol of refinement, grace and femininity and also an idea of freedom. These are a few very inspiring things.”
Ricci said it would expand the brand’s market profile with select flagships, a new in-store shop concept and new product categories.
Mario Grauso, president of Puig Fashion Group, said he’d had his eye on Theyskens for years, impressed by his wide-screen brand vision and ability to produce “beautiful, creative and real clothes.”
Ricci’s fashion business has strong momentum; rtw sales have more than doubled in the past three years. Grauso said he sees large growth potential in handbags and shoes, categories for which Theyskens said he has many ideas.
Theyskens, born in Brussels, leaped onto the international fashion scene in 1998 at age 21 when he dressed Madonna in a striking black satin coat with hook-and-eye closures for the Oscars, and she anointed him her new favorite designer. He was immediately dubbed a Goth hero and a rising star, considered a front-runner to succeed Alexander McQueen at Givenchy in 2001.
Instead, Theyskens joined Rochas in 2003, putting his signature collection on hiatus.