Rochas to close

[kimair]

from wwd....holy s!*&!!

Despite critical acclaim for its designer Olivier Theyskens, the Rochas fashion house is to be shuttered, WWD has learned.

Procter & Gamble -- owner of the business -- met with workers here today with a proposal to cease operations, according to an industry source. P&G, which owns and will continue producing fragrances under the Rochas banner, does not consider fashion its core business, the source said. Under French law, numerous steps need to be taken in order to close down such a business. The procedure can take months. About 30 Rochas employees will be affected.

The Rochas fall/winter ready-to-wear collection will continue to be shipped, the industry source said. Retailers have not yet been informed of the Rochas fashion closure.

P&G inherited Rochas -- both its fashion and fragrance arms -- in 2003, when P&G acquired Wella's portfolio.

According to the industry source, P&G had tried to license out the Rochas fashion business, but there was only interest in outright acquisitions of the Rochas fashion and fragrance brands together.

The move will mark the end of three years of acclaim for Theyskens, who made Rochas one of the most anticipated shows of Paris fashion week. Earlier this year, he was crowned International Designer of the Year by the CFDA.

It is understood the Rochas rtw business grew 30 percent last year, and the company received a strong reaction to its pre-spring collection, unveiled earlier this month during the couture shows. But ultimately it was considered a niche label, known for ultra-expensive gowns and cocktail attire.

The financial performance of the fashion house could not immediately be learned, but it is understood it was loss making.

Historically, beauty companies have found the fashion business model difficult to master. In recent years, L'Oreal spun off its Lanvin fashion holding and Groupe Clarins stopped manufacturing the Thierry Mugler fashion brand.

For complete coverage, see tomorrow's issue of WWD.

[Hye Park Lover]

Nooo... Closing Rochas is a fashion crime of the highest kind! Too many fashion houses have closed in such a short space of time!

I understand that most of Rochas' beautifully crafted gowns won't be accessible to a lot of people. Maybe they should consider making some clothes like suits and blouses that will be in more demand as well as beautiful gowns, or start a diffusion line that will rake in money to support the main line... but closing Rochas altogether... it's not the way to go... it will be a great loss for us all.

[faust]

P&G. That explains everything. Bastards, why don't they just spin Rochas off? I doubt the perfume line makes enough money to warrant a line on P&G's income statement.

This is bad news.

[bigb3n]

omg!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fashionaddict1]

Originally Posted by kimair

from wwd....holy s!*&!!

Really sad. Many beautiful things we're coming from this house.

Although its understandable if after 3 years of Olivier it was loss making.

He will be offered an amazing new position. Wouldn't he be good for Chloe? . . .

[Spike413]

Wow....

That sucks.

[jssy4eva]

i was just about to say Chloe also ^

This is so sad...but i doubt that he will have any difficulty finding another job...

i would love to see how he would design more wearable clothes, as opposed to the ball gowns and cuture we know him for.

[ilaughead]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

I was looking forward to the next collection! I can't believe it. And it was getting so popular, too! Why can't LVMH or Gucci Group buy it!? What's the deal?

[MulletProof]

ughhjkwhy...i never owned anything rochas, dammit!


looking at the bright side, olivier might go back and do his own thing as he used to.

[Amelia]

oh no... just NO!

[Mutterlein]

History repeats itself with Theyskens and I'm not surprised. Rochas in stores is always the most exspensive and unimpressive label. His gowns are beautiful too but a lot of women don't like them. I think maybe he misdirected the house a bit and competition from Lanvin and Balenciaga hasn't helped. I hope he'll move on to something better, he deserves to.

[Bidwell]

Truly sick making. Poor Olivier has had a rough time of it with his original backers and now this. The design world isn't as glamorous as some believe.

[faust]

Originally Posted by Mutterlein

History repeats itself with Theyskens and I'm not surprised. Rochas in stores is always the most exspensive and unimpressive label. His gowns are beautiful too but a lot of women don't like them. I think maybe he misdirected the house a bit and competition from Lanvin and Balenciaga hasn't helped. I hope he'll move on to something better, he deserves to.

Expensive, yes - unimpressive, that's a bit of a stretch, no? I think it is astoundingly well made and is ultimate elegance. And, didn't he choose to close his brand himself?

I think he should just stick with Haute Couture and a small ready-to-wear line. If Ann-Valerie Hash can do it, so can he.

[Mutterlein]

Originally Posted by faust

Expensive, yes - unimpressive, that's a bit of a stretch, no? I think it is astoundingly well made and is ultimate elegance. And, didn't he choose to close his brand himself?

I think he should just stick with Haute Couture and a small ready-to-wear line. If Ann-Valerie Hash can do it, so can he.

The clothes were excellent but still unimpressive. I remember a woman at Jeffery's looking at a top from the S/S 06 collection and then quickly lose her attention after seeing the pricetag. It was just cotton and was well over 1.2k. She bought Lanvin instead.

And I definitely agree about doing things like Hash, that business model would work better I imagine.

[softgrey]

tragic...