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

[eternitygoddess]

I thought he was giving the brand a nice, fresher, feel and look.

 

[lowfive1715]

He was injecting spirit back into the house, but at the same time, the injections were somewhat intoxicating. Overall, he was moving the house forward and now once again it is at a standstill. BTW is he still with his partner or have things changed? I read somewhere he was photographed with a male model, who is not his partner?

 

[kimair]

Esteban Cortazar named newest Ungaro designer

i am truly shocked by this...i don't think he's ready at all...
from wwd...

Emanuel Ungaro has found its new chief designer — Esteban Cortazar, WWD has learned.

An announcement is expected as early as today. Ungaro chief executive officer Mounir Moufarrige has a knack for making surprising designer choices. As president of Chloé, he picked the then 25-year-old Stella McCartney to succeed Karl Lagerfeld in 1997. Bogota, Colombia-born Cortazar, 23, presented his first signature collection in New York at the age of 18 and was immediately embraced by such retailers as the late Kal Ruttenstein at Bloomingdale's.

Neither Ungaro officials nor Cortazar could be reached for comment Thursday.

Cortazar will succeed Peter Dundas, whose three seasons at Ungaro were rocky at best. The house has experienced a bit of a revolving door in its design department, Dundas himself having succeeded Vincent Darre. Ungaro hopes Cortazar will be able to generate excitement at a house founded in 1965 and known for its polkadots, sexy draping and vivacious prints.

Ungaro has been wracked by instability 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. They sold the business in 2005 to high-tech entrepreneur Asim Abdullah.

 

[tricotineacetat]

not a particularly good choice, to say the least.

 

[style_expert]

very surprising and very daring choice ..it's such a shame because I was sort of starting to like Dundas at Ungaro. This choice for Esteban seems very random....there were many great other options I suppose and this doesnt strike to me as the best option for Ungaro

on the other hand...I'm extremely curious about his first collection for Ungaro now.

 

[Faith Akiyama]

What in the world? This is the most surprising decision. Whatever prompted them to choose him...where has his own line even been the past few seasons

 

[softgrey]

What in the world? This is the most surprising decision. Whatever prompted them to choose him...where has his own line even been the past few seasons

miami......

this is weird...
...

i admit that his flow-y drape-y sexy party dresses are not so far from vintage ungaro...
but i don't see him as having ANY vision..


maybe they got him cheap?
...

 

[Faith Akiyama]

^Ah yes, back to home...that makes the choice even more random

 

[style_expert]

more from FWD

Ungaro's New Designer

Esteban Cortazar to helm famed French house
Friday, November 30, 2007

(PARIS) Emanuel Ungaro, after years of tapping European talent to helm its storied fashion house, has named a young Latino to the post of chief designer: Esteban Cortazar.

The 23-year-old, Bogota, Colombia-born native, has lived in the United States since he was 11. He presented his first namesake collection at the age of 18 in New York in 2003. Cortazar, who recently relocated from Miami, Fla. to New York, will now be based in Paris but will continue to commute back and forth between the two cities.

As part of his new post at Ungaro, Cortazar has made the decision to discontinue pursuing expansion of his signature collection and to devote 100 percent of his efforts to revitalizing the respected couture house. Cortazar, who stopped showing his own collection a year ago, said he was planning to restructure his company. But then he got the call from Ungaro.

"I spent the better part of the last seven to eight months meeting people around the world, the same as I did when I appointed Stella [McCartney] to Chloé 10 years ago," Mounir Moufarrige, Ungaro's chief executive officer, told Fashion Week Daily in an interview. "The brand needs some youth and he's got it; he knows what makes a chick tick."

Cortazar succeeds Peter Dundas, whose three seasons at Ungaro were met with tepid results at best. Though charismatic, the Norwegian-born designer, who joined Ungaro from Roberto Cavalli, was unable to carry the torch. He was also the latest name in a series to come through the doors at the brand, having been brought on following Vincent Darre's exit.

"People are curious about Ungaro and about Esteban because there have been a lot of red herrings. At the end of the day they are going to judge his work, and his house, and my decision, God help me. He's the youngest designer at Ungaro and if I'm not mistaken, the youngest designer at any other house." While some may question Moufarrige's decision to place such a young designer at Ungaro, he's had success in the past taking chances. McCartney was 24 when she joined Chloé.

Ungaro, who retired from his namesake house in 2004, had handpicked Giambattista Valli to be his successor. And while the designer was met with some success, disagreements with management forced him out. Ferragamo purchased the company in 1996 only to sell it to high-tech entrepreneur Asim Abdullah in 2005.

Cortazar's first collection for Ungaro will be presented on the runway in March during Paris Fashion Week. He will design all aspects of the women's collections and report directly to Moufarrige, who declined to discuss the details of the agreement other than to say that Cortazar signed a "long-term deal."

According to Moufarrige, Cortazar was on a short list of designer names that he considered. "I liked his attitude and the fresh eye he had for fashion--or that he could have for fashion," Moufarrige continued. "When I saw his own collections, they had fluidity, seduction, and color--all very close elements to the DNA of Ungaro." And Cortazar's youth is in no way reflective of his talent or maturity level as a designer. "Kids at 15 today are more than 15; young men at the age of 23 today can have the maturity of a 30 or 35 year old," Moufarrige emphasized. "I don't think there's enough awareness of that, of the age revolution we're experiencing. Esteban has the maturity to encapsulate all of this."

Moufarrige, who met Cortazar through friends and word of mouth, recognizes the challenges a financially strapped young designer faces. "You have to factor in with resources how much more they could do," he said. "He'll bring a new take to fashion, bring an identity to the brand, which in clothing I think is important. Although we've made a lot of beautiful pieces, that's not enough. I think he will up the decibel volume in terms of seduction."

For Cortazar, the ride so far has been intense--and with good reason. "Ungaro has been a brand I've looked up to since I started designing; I never would've expected something like this to happen in a million years," he admitted in a phone interview from the Ungaro atelier. In the short term, he plans to bring youth back to the house. "I want all my friends, my friend's friends to wear it and be excited," he said. "I plan to honor Mr. Ungaro's legacy, but I want there to be a 'very now' attitude."

So who will his new Ungaro woman be? According to Cortazar, she's young, effortless, not as perfect as the Ungaro woman has been in the past, and a little more Bohemian. "Someone who will wear an amazing couture-inspired mini dress but her hair will be messy and she'll wear unexpected shoes," he said.

Moufarrige admitted that the house had tried to spread themselves too thin. "With these things, there's always an element of risk, but when you have a house with a DNA, go deep and get a statement out," he said. "You're only on a runway in front of a jury for 14 minutes. The house needs identity, a new take, a breath of modernity and fresh air, and thinking about the future. I kept asking myself, 'Is it enough?'," he said. "And no, it wasn't enough." Cortazar agreed. "The house was missing a sense of softness, a celebration of life and nature," he said.

For now, Cortazar will spend the next two months designing and developing his inaugural collection. That means spending Christmas in Paris, but as fate would have it, his grandmother lives in Paris and his mother had planned a trip to the city for the holidays. But then it's onto Colombia for the New Year.

"The good thing about being a designer is that you can pretty much design from everywhere," he said.

 

[Salvatore]

Terrible terrible choice, but happy for a young designer to get something. But still terrible!

 

[Meg]

yes I'll chime and say it's odd as well. I've never been a fan of his designs which have always seemed a bit....one dimensional to me. But who knows.....

 

[Spike413]

Ick, that's the first and only reaction.

His stuff (back when he showed at NY fashion week anyway) was like wannabe Versace with a touch of uninspired student design.

 

[Atelier]

I think he's been preparing all his life for something just like this and he's got my support. For a season at least. Don't screw up this chance.

 

[Scott]

yeah it's rather an unsavoury choice,if you ask me too. like softie said in miami--and definitely where his cheap aesthetics habitate. i really don't get this kind of marriage--even though he does make flowy silhouettes it's just a bit too garish and sleazy for ungaro,i think. it's not even in the slightest elegant cortazar's work compared with what we know of his[emmanuel's]legacy.

or perhaps we're just being clueless to the fact that they'll have someone so naive about fashion that they'll have ample oppurtunity to dictate him easily. i mean,come on,why would they want to heave forth with somebody with ideals after the valli situation?

and yes,i am being harsh

 

[Alejandro]

^ you're so not being harsh. this is the worst idea ever.

dundas was doing well at ungaro, imo..... what happened with him? he was just there for 2 seasons! is it that his designs weren't selling? (not like anyone was buying ungaro anyway )

 

[tortoisie]

I'm really excited about this!

 

[Blanche DuBois]

Thumb down!

Dundas was 3 seasons there, and he was a genius, really revitalized the spirit of the house...after so many mistakes with Darre
I don't remember any stuff from esteban, that's one point to say i don't like him, or that he never did anything remarkable

Can someone post any collection of Cortazar?
I don't know what they are with the labels...it looks so unestable, and so amateur playing, changing designers so often really hurts House's names, not help them

 

[seanutbutter]

I'm not familiar with Cortazar's designs, so I can't really make any comments about this decision. In any case, I'm happy that we'll be able to see an Ungaro fashion show again, regardless of the designer.

 

[ChrissyM]

here is a link to his website: http://www.estebancortazar.com/

i remember looking at his collection when it came out but clearly it was forgettable for the most part..

there are some pretty pieces in the ss 06 collection but then some of it is just a mess..

he's still young and definitely needs to grow..
maybe working for ungaro, a label with a history, will help him establish a vision or inspire him to modernize the classic ungaro look..

i don't really know what to think but i'm hoping for his sake that he manages to surprise everyone with a great debut collection..

though i think he will probably get off to a rocky start

 

[masquerade]

yeah it's rather an unsavoury choice,if you ask me too. like softie said in miami--and definitely where his cheap aesthetics habitate. i really don't get this kind of marriage--even though he does make flowy silhouettes it's just a bit too garish and sleazy for ungaro,i think. it's not even in the slightest elegant cortazar's work compared with what we know of his[emmanuel's]legacy.

or perhaps we're just being clueless to the fact that they'll have someone so naive about fashion that they'll have ample oppurtunity to dictate him easily. i mean,come on,why would they want to heave forth with somebody with ideals after the valli situation?

and yes,i am being harsh

that was my first thought. they wanted someone malleable so they can groom him to do what they want. Dundas was too much for them i guess. But if that was the case, why make a big deal about the head designer at all?

and what is the Valli situation?