Jean Paul Knott Leaves Féraud

JEAN-PAUL KNOTT has left Feraud after just two seasons as creative director of the Escada-owned label. Poor sales of the new luxury ready-to-wear line that Knott was employed to create last July have prompted the Feraud board to concentrate wholly on its main label, which will continue to be designed by Belgian designer Matthias Heitzler. "We are very happy with the image Jean-Paul has conveyed and created for Feraud, but we are disappointed by the commercial result," Feraud's managing director Francois-Xavier de Mont told Women's Wear Daily. "We have decided to concentrate on ladies' ready-to-wear, under the Feraud label, which is the core business." Knott took up the job at Feraud, just four months after being dumped by Krizia and his new employers hoped that he would "reinstate the continuity at Feraud that was lost with the work of [his predessessor] Yvan Mispelare". While his first collection failed to garner an enthusiastic response, his autumn/winter 2003 line will not even make it to production. He is now planning to concentrate on his own three-year-old label. (April 1 2003, AM)