The revolving door at Emanuel Ungaro (please put all Ungaro news here)

[educo]

Whoa!!! Jeremy Scott?!?! That's A Statement!

 

[adore dior]

i just heard the news and was shocked, i had to rush over here to see if it's true and add my two cents. what are they thinking? i've seen his shows a while back and i can't see how the people behind ungaro could do such a thing, his designs are so first year design student.

this won't be good

 

[Betty_B]

So the fall collection is out, a lot of mixed opinions on the threat.. Does anybody wants to generalize their opinion here about Esteban's first collectionf for Ungaro?

 

[reese06]

Esteban Cortazar out at Ungaro *Update* Archs & Lohan leave as well

Moderators,

If you need to move this into the "Rumor has it" thread until this is official then please do but I would rather it be in the Designers thread.

PARIS — It looks like the revolving door at Emanuel Ungaro will spin yet again.

According to sources, the French fashion house plans to part ways with Esteban Cortazar, who has shown three collections on the runway. It is understood the designer reached an impasse with Ungaro management over its marketing and advertising strategy.

Mounir Moufarrige, Ungaro’s chief executive officer, is said to be pushing for a celebrity for future ad campaigns to help wake up the house, and has been in talks with about half a dozen potential candidates, including Lindsay Lohan, but they would have nothing to do with design.

Moufarrige could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Ungaro has not done a campaign for its women’s wear for years, and the executive is keen to revive its provocative heritage, sources said. The couture house, founded by Emanuel Ungaro in 1965, once featured an ad of a dog in a studded collar licking a woman’s feet, for example.

The identity of potential successors to Cortazar could not immediately be learned, but Moufarrige is known for making bold and unexpected decisions, most famously for replacing Karl Lagerfeld with Stella McCartney, then age 25, as head designer of Chloé in 1997. He had a long career at Chloé parent Compagnie Financière Richemont, most notably at Dunhill and Montblanc, where he put its emblematic black pen at the center of development.

More recently, the peripatetic executive convinced leather goods purveyor Goyard to translate its iconic canvas in a range of colors, and turned oversize watch brand U-Boat into an in-demand item.

Bogotá, Colombia-born Cortazar presented his first signature collection in New York at the age of 18 and was embraced by retailers such as the late Kal Ruttenstein at Bloomingdale’s. He arrived at Ungaro at age 23, succeeding Peter Dundas, who had replaced Vincent Darré.

Ungaro has been wracked by instability in the design department since its founding couturier retired in 2004. His handpicked successor, Giambattista Valli, had some success, but he clashed with management. Ferragamo purchased Ungaro in 1996 and sold the business in 2005 to high-tech entrepreneur Asim Abdullah.

Source: WWD.com

June 2, 2009 -- AS if it wasn't bad enough that Lindsay Lohan ruined her own career, she's now interfering in the careers of others.
Lohan is in Paris, according to multiple sources, talking to the House of Emanuel Ungaro about signing on as a "creative consultant" for the fashion line. But the current head designer of Ungaro, Esteban Cortazar, is not greeting the rehabbed starlet with open arms.

NY Post

 

[FashionPower]

Ungaro fashion house has lost everything after Giambattista Valli's departure...only Dundas was really good for the house aestethic but they still fired him

 

[VogueParisLover]

^ Totally agreed! Some business don't know when they've got something good. *ahem* Valentino *ahem* Nina Ricci *ahem*.

 

[retailqueen]

Lindsay Lohan? in the state that she is now?
why would a fashion house like Ungaro want to be associated with her at this moment?

If the rumors are true I respect his decision and hope him the best for the future. I feel sorry for young designers these days.

 

[Mutterlein]

Ungaro fashion house has lost everything after Giambattista Valli's departure...only Dundas was really good for the house aestethic but they still fired him

Totally agree about Giambattista. Had he stayed the house probably would be on the same level where Balenciaga and Lanvin are at now. It'll go down as one of the worst errors in fashion human resourcing, letting him slip.

Now, I'm not all the biggest fan of Cortazar, nor do I think he was right for the house, but it certainly should not be Lindsay Lohan to put him out. What in the world is their management thinking? Ungaro must be in agony.

 

[Spike413]

Totally agree about Giambattista. Had he stayed the house probably would be on the same level where Balenciaga and Lanvin are at now. It'll go down as one of the worst errors in fashion human resourcing, letting him slip.

Now, I'm not all the biggest fan of Cortazar, nor do I think he was right for the house, but it certainly should not be Lindsay Lohan to put him out. What in the world is their management thinking? Ungaro must be in agony.

My thoughts exactly.

Of all the reasons to let him go that one is certainly not it.

 

[Bidwell]

Surprising twist but after all the fiascoes the house has self inflicted it is perhaps logical they might grasp at celebrity designers as a last resort. It will undoubtedly get bad press but any press for them is reasonable at this point.
If Monsieur Ungaro wishes to save his own image and reputation, then perhaps he should come out of retirement for a couple of seasons and hand it off to a dauphin designer himself...
The present situation is ludicrous and a sham and the CEO should really be the one let go now.

 

[Blanche DuBois]

THANK GOD!!!

well, this proves my theory: bussiness people makes mistakes all the time, Look here, they had giambattista, he went away, then peter dundas, who was fantastic (look what he is doing at pucci) and they fired him...what are they? crazy?
same with the gucci house w alessandra, and in valentino w alessandra

 

[reese06]

It's what happens when you have CEO's who don't care anything about fashion. A lot of these designers made money but they were never about the numbers and the bottom line. They wanted to create beautiful things and keep moving fashion forward. These CEO's don't dare about how romantic Alessandra's vison for Valentino is or how uninspiring Frida's collections for Gucci are. They strictly only care about what is bringing in the money.

 

[mackos]

Now, I'm not all the biggest fan of Cortazar, nor do I think he was right for the house, but it certainly should not be Lindsay Lohan to put him out.

Agree. I'm really curious how will it end.

 

[mikeijames]

they should never have let peter dundas go....he's STILL doing ungaro AT pucci.

style.com

 

[kimair]

Esteban Cortazar has launched a lawsuit against Emanuel Ungaro, according to sources. As reported, Cortazar is parting ways with the Paris-based fashion house. Sources said Friday the designer’s lawyers plan to take legal action, but that the house is expected to settle. An Ungaro spokeswoman declined to comment.

wwd / june 8, 2009

 

[Squizree]

They asked for it. Letting go of the last two designers before Coratazar was a huge mistake. They deserve what theyre getting.

Lindsay Lohan? Is this their idea of "reviving the label's provocative image"? Lindsay Lohan has own "problems" to worry about.

They should just close the house down before they embarass themselves any further. Unless they can get someone extraordinary who can rescue the label AND its image.

Quite frankly Id rather see Betsey Johnson have a go at Ungaro than suffer one more season with E. Cortazar.

 

[Squizree]

It's what happens when you have CEO's who don't care anything about fashion. A lot of these designers made money but they were never about the numbers and the bottom line. They wanted to create beautiful things and keep moving fashion forward. These CEO's don't dare about how romantic Alessandra's vison for Valentino is or how uninspiring Frida's collections for Gucci are. They strictly only care about what is bringing in the money.

This is the reason why Ive began to deeply hate CEOs and and Fashion Business Presidents. All they care about is the dough.
The balance between beauty/art/design and money has tipped tremedouslytowards one side and all you see at Gucci and Valentino nowadays is complete garbage. There needs to be a better balance between fashion and profit.

 

[khyrk]

After rumors over creative differences between Esteban Cortazar and Ungaro hit last week, it has been confirmed that house and designer are parting ways. The split doesn't seem amicable, however — word is that Cortazar served the label with a lawsuit, and the house expects to settle. [WWD]

fashionologie.com

 

[kimair]

it's official...from wwd, july 23, 2009

Emanuel Ungaro SAS is officially parting ways with designer Esteban Cortazar and plans to name a successor in due course, WWD has learned.

The French fashion house, owned since 2005 by high-tech entrepreneur Asim Abdullah, is expected to announce as early as today a separation by mutual agreement.

WWD first reported that Ungaro would end its relationship with Cortazar on June 5. The designer, who received mixed reviews for the three collections he showed on the runway, had recently reached an impasse with management over its marketing and advertising strategy, as reported.

The identity of potential successors could not be learned.

However, Mounir Moufarrige, Ungaro’s chief executive officer, is known for making unexpected choices, most famously replacing Karl Lagerfeld with Stella McCartney, then age 25, as head designer at Chloé in 1997.

Mouffarige is also said to be angling for a celebrity face for future marketing to help wake up Ungaro, and has been in talks with about half a dozen potential candidates, including Lindsay Lohan.

Bogotá, Colombia-born Cortazar presented his first signature collection in New York at the age of 18 and was embraced by retailers such as the late Kal Ruttenstein at Bloomingdale’s. He arrived at Ungaro at 23, succeeding Peter Dundas, who is now the designer at Emilio Pucci.

 

[eternitygoddess]

How many designers have they run through in the last 5 years?