Lars Nilsson succeeds Gianfranco Ferre

[kimair]

from fashionweekdaily...

Italian newspapers have been abuzz all weekend with rumors that Italian fashion house Gianfranco Ferré has reportedly tapped Swedish designer Lars Nilsson as its creative head. Nilsson was previously the creative director of Nina Ricci, a post he abandoned in August 2006.

Since Mr. Ferré's unexpected death in June 2007, the Italian design house has been without a creative director. The fashion house sent its Spring 2008 collection down the runway Monday, with looks Mr. Ferré had started designing prior to his untimely death.

Will Nilsson, who stuck with classically pretty and feminine at Ricci, be able to follow in the creative footsteps of Ferré, known for his simple, structured designs and dramatic theatrical shows? We will soon find out. "A final decision has not yet been made on the candidate but it will be done shortly," a spokeswoman for Ferré told The Daily.

i'm not sure if i like this...

 

[UNiQFashionista]

Lars Nilsson succeeds Ferre

WWD.COM

Nilsson Succeeds Ferre
http://www.wwd.com/issue/article/119098?src=breakingnews
MILAN - Swedish designer Lars Nilsson will succeed Gianfranco Ferre at the late
designer's house, the company will disclose today. Nilsson will show his first
collection in January during men's fashion week here, followed by women's wear
in February.

Ferre, owned by Italy's IT Holding, presented its spring-summer 2008 collection
here Monday night, designed by an in-house team following Ferre's death in June
at age 62.

 

[SomethingElse]

Thanks for confirming the rumours, UNiQFashionista! For those of us who don't know M. Nilsson's background...

Lars Nilsson was born in 1967 in Sweden. He spent two years studying at Virginska Skolan, a fashion school in Stockholm. He then went to Paris and spent one year at the Chambre Syndicale fashion college for Haute Couture.

His first internship was at Chanel where he worked under Monsieur Paquito. From Chanel, he moved to Christian Lacroix, where he remained for 9 years. In 1996, he worked for a few months at Pierre Balmain, before working for John Galliano at Dior.

In 1999 Nilsson moved to New York and joined Ralph Lauren, but he much preferred the type of clothes made by Bill Blass whom he joined in 2000. When Bill Blass retired the same year, Lars Nilsson became the house designer. He also brought with him his good friend right from college days, Herve Pierre.

Lars had only 21 days to prepare his first Bill Blass collection, but pulled together a solid blockbuster 27 pieces, which were greeted with applause and relief by the ladies who have always supported the house. The venue was intimate, the Blass showroom, instead of the Bryant Park tents where New York collections are usually shown. The lilac, double-faced silk-satin trench worn over paprika silk-velvet pants, shown in the picture here, was one of Nilsson's favourites.

There was a great shock in store, 24 hours after he had successfully presented his Bill Blass Fall 2003 collection in New York, he was fired by the Blass CEO along with his team of 6. His collection had been based on New York architecture, and had been acclaimed. It is not known why the house of Blass fired him and he was very shocked. Click on Blass for more details.

Nina Ricci

In early April 2003, it has been announced that Lars Nilsson will join the house of Nina Ricci. He will show his first collection for them in October 2003.

He departed from Nina Ricci in August of last year.

historyofashion.com

 

[Irresistivel]

Would you guys be willing to share some of his work as I'm note very familiar with. I'll see if I can find anything.

 

[masquerade]

thats great. i liked him at nina ricci

 

[MulletProof]

..I don't know about this decision.. he can be really dull sometimes but even though Ferre's S/S 08 collection was oustanding in comparison with his last years as a designer, I do think Lars is still a smart move.. he'll definitely make the house more approachable for younger generations..

Would you guys be willing to share some of his work as I'm note very familiar with. I'll see if I can find anything.

here's some of his work for both Bill Blass and Nina Ricci. different aesthetic but just glimpse of his past work.

BILL BLASS F/W 03

NINA RICCI F/W 04

NINA RICCI S/S 05

[from style.com]

 

[telepathicgoat]

well, for me he is the designer that balances on the line between classic and extremely boring.

i dont think he is the right designer for ferré

way too boring

 

[ultramarine]

He had great respect for Blass... if he goes back towards his Blass days I think hell be fine ... for Ricci, I dont think he quite got it ... his prints were amazing but he mentioned how they came from scandinavian wallpaper designs ...

I surely hope he finds his niche ... Ive thinking were he can finally see his career really take off.

Good luck, Lars!

 

[ilaughead]

Not a fan of Lars nor Ferre, but I'm happy for Lars that he has a good job again.

 

[kimair]

He had great respect for Blass... if he goes back towards his Blass days I think he'll be fine ...

i'm thinking that as well...
i really loved his work at blass...it will work well at ferré...

maybe he's destined to be the designer who always works at a house, not having a house of his own...

 

[Alejandro]

yeah...
i agree....

 

[Scott]

off topic,somewhat...i thought ferre died in july...or have the months truly gone by that quickly?

anyway...i dunno about this. does nilsson have the calibre of design to continue in that same spirit as ferre? i mean,to compare,ferre was synonymous for his sharpness and his unabashed drama whilst nilsson,well,to be truthful is a bit generic to me. i really don't think his aesthetics could ever translate for ferre.

 

[Irresistivel]

Thanks for the photos Mullet Proof!

 

[taz]

wasn't Lars going to work for Jean-Louis Scherrer after Stephan Rolan has left the house?

& Thanks for Lars designs photos, Mullet Proof.. I love his work at Nina but sadly it didn't get enough attention

 

[kissmesweet]

Hmmm, I honestly don't really think that this will be that great of a direction for Ferre... (R.I.P.)

 

[MissMagAddict]

source | nytimes
September 27, 2007

A New Architect at Ferré
By ERIC WILSON

Since Gianfranco Ferré died unexpectedly in June, the future of one of Italian fashion’s most recognizable labels has been hanging under a question mark. The big news from Milan this week was the appointment of Lars Nilsson, formerly of Bill Blass and Nina Ricci, as the line’s creative director.

While Mr. Nilsson might not have seemed an obvious choice, he could turn out to be a good fit. At Blass and at Ricci, his pretty prints and lace were hyper-feminine, certainly an image that is at odds with the legacy of stiff architectural shapes and hard patent leather edges of Mr. Ferré.

But that dichotomy — already the cause for some anxiety in Milanese circles most faithful to the late designer — could also spark the sort of creative tension that makes for interesting fashion, and possibly help revive Ferré’s presence on the international stage.

“It is amazing to look at the legacy he created in 30 years,” Mr. Nilsson said, shortly after being introduced to the designers in Ferré’s Milan offices yesterday. “His tailoring was amazing, and he was very architectural in the cut and in the purity of his designs.”

Mr. Nilsson said his approach would be considerate of that history but would also mix his experiences from the other houses. (He has also worked for Christian Lacroix, Dior and Ralph Lauren, so go figure.) Since he left Ricci last year, he has been designing furniture projects in Sweden.

“I feel very inspired by Mr. Ferré’s connections with architecture, and maybe that has to do with what I been working on recently,” he said. “But that is just a starting point and it will take time to develop.”

Mr. Nilsson, whose personal style of tailored three-piece suits worn with thickly knotted neckties is not all that different from Mr. Ferré’s, plans to relocate from Paris to Milan this fall and will show his first men’s and women’s collections there in January and February. He also said he was looking forward to designing the theatrical white shirts that were a Ferré signature, but yesterday, he was still wearing one that was blue.