EXCLUSIVE: AZ Factory Is Morphing Into the AZ Academy
The start-up will cease commercializing collections, but still support independent designers via a new post-graduate educational program.
By MILES SOCHA
MAY 21, 2024, 10:30AM
AZ Factory is to shutter its fashion brand and cease retail operations, but continue to support independent fashion designers, WWD has learned.
Initially a new vehicle for acclaimed fashion designer Alber Elbaz that evolved into a hub for serial collaborations following his death in April 2021 from COVID-19, the start-up is now being transformed into a post-graduate educational program dubbed AZ Academy: Business for Designers.
The program will fall under Richemont‘s Milan-based corporate school Creative Academy in partnership with Rome’s Accademia Costume & Moda fashion school.
Recent graduate designers from international fashion schools and independent designers already working in fashion, leather goods and accessories will be invited to apply for the program starting later this month.
In September, a jury of industry professionals will select between 10 and 20 designers for the first one-year scholarship, with the program kicking off in Milan in January 2025.
Selected designers are to pay a symbolic 2,500 euros to participate, but the vast majority of the program cost will be supported by Richemont.
“AZ Academy introduces a unique offer to help independent fashion designers turn their creative visions into successful businesses,” said Philippe Fortunato, chief executive officer of fashion and accessories maisons at Compagnie Financière Richemont, which initially struck a joint venture with Elbaz in 2019 to create AZ Factory. “Through this program, Richemont reaffirms its commitment to support independent creation, in direct continuation of the story started with AZ Factory together with Alber Elbaz.”
Mauro Grimaldi, strategic adviser to Fortunato, has long touted AZ Factory as a mechanism to support independent creativity, and that won’t change.
“At AZ Academy, we will create a bridge between designers and investors, transforming creative visions into viable business plans to attract investors,” he said, asking: “What better way to pay tribute to Alber Elbaz?”
Recently hinged on serial product stories by “guest amigos,” AZ Factory will no longer produce new merchandise for the brand’s online store, which ships worldwide.
It is understood the “P is for Paris” pre-fall 2024 collection, designed by Lutz Huelle, will be the last to be produced and commercialized. The site is also retailing spring designs, and a selection of denim dresses and separates.
Trading is expected to wind up at the end of July.
According to sources, less than 10 employees of AZ Factory will be impacted by the brand shutdown, as Richemont found internal mobility solutions for most staff. Others are to receive negotiated exit settlements.
To be sure, AZ Factory teams did their best to bring attention and verve to a range of projects with guest creatives, from young up-and-comers to more established talents.
These included Molly Molloy and Lucinda Chambers, the design duo behind Colville; South African designer Thebe Magugu; size-inclusive brand Ester Manas, designed by Ester Manas and Balthazar Delepierre, and Huelle, founder of the Paris-based Lutz label, who stayed on to head up seasonal pre-collections.
All AZ Factory’s “guest amigos” benefited from an entire ecosystem — a design studio, atelier, marketing muscle and communications channels — all the team members recruited by Elbaz before his passing.
In summer 2022, AZ Factory operated a temporary pop-up in Paris that was part specialty store, part showroom, part brand incubator and part cultural curator. Couture week collaborations with the likes of Jenny Hytönen brought additional buzz.
But Elbaz’s untimely passing shortly after his first designs — formfitting dresses dubbed My Body — hit the market made it hard for Richemont to establish the brand. However, it did help the Swiss luxury group, mostly known for its hard luxury brands headlined by Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, connect with a new generation of designers, and understand the myriad challenges they face in building independent brands.
The start-up unveiled its first fashions in January 2021, centered on smart fabrics and with storytelling, problem-solving and entertainment embedded in design, distribution and communications.
According to Richemont’s financial documents, the Swiss luxury group controls 99.9 percent of AZ Factory. In the 2021 annual report, Richemont said it owned 70 percent of AZfashion SAS.
It is understood the shares of Elbaz’s heirs were diluted following capital increases led by Richemont.
Topics to be covered at the new AZ Academy are to include creativity, innovation, sustainability, production, finance, legal, marketing and inclusivity as well as an immersive experience with suppliers and tutorships, according to Richemont.
Besides academic learnings, students are to attend professional masterclasses, receive individual coaching and delve into the supply chain via visits, experiences and internships.
The last stage of the program “will be a final presentation of a fully reviewed and ready-to-pitch business case proposal, collection and industrial plan for potential investors interested in supporting new fashion businesses.”
Established in 2003, the Creative Academy “selects, nurtures and prepares young creative talents for the design of luxury jewelry, watches and fashion accessories,” according to Richemont’s website, which notes that 20 top students are selected each year to complete a Master of Arts in Design and Applied Arts.
To date more than 170 designers trained at the academy have been hired in Richemont maisons, mostly in hard luxury brands, and the goal is to duplicate this success for its fashion and accessories maisons, which include Chloé, Dunhill, Alaïa, Delvaux, Montblanc, Gianvito Rossi, Serapian, Purdey and the golf and luxury performance apparel brand Peter Millar.
Nicolas Bos, CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels, is also chairman of the Creative Academy, and on June 1 will take over as CEO of Richemont. “With AZ Academy, we are expanding this further to independent fashion designers,” he said.
The luxury group has detected a strong will among emerging talents to create their own brands and wishes to equip them with the necessary real-world skills and knowledge to succeed.
Founded in 1964, the Accademia Costume & Moda boasts about 500 students across its Rome and Milan campuses. Its famous alumni include Alessandro Michele, Frida Giannini, Isabella Rossellini and Maurizio Galante.
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