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April Crichton

Sonia Rykiel Spring 2013 | Runway
Paris Fashion Week

Sonia Rykiel Spring 2013

April Crichton is set to leave Sonia Rykiel now that Geraldo da Conceicao has been appointed creative director — but before she started packing up her desk, she created a final collection that helps herald a new direction for the French house.
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Sonia Rykiel Spring 2013 | Runway

April Crichton is set to leave Sonia Rykiel now that Geraldo da Conceicao has been appointed creative director — but before she started packing up her desk, she created a final collection that helps herald a new direction for the French house.

While Crichton didn't exactly abandon Rykiel's signatures, she did set them aside momentarily to consider something more Japanese than French. There were kimono shapes and allusions to the obi belt sprinkled generously throughout, along with splotches of color applied like dollops of blue whipped cream to a jumpsuit and dress. And what of Rykiel's iconic knitwear? Crichton deconstructed it slightly, leaving the weave open in places on a shirt and skirt in mint green and a poncho in gentle pink.

Photos courtesy of Sonia Rykiel

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Sonia Rykiel Appoints Geraldo da Conceicao Artistic Director
Sonia Rykiel

Sonia Rykiel Names New Artistic Director

Geraldo da Conceicao, currently a women's design director at Louis Vuitton, will soon take over the artistic director's chair at Sonia Rykiel.
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Geraldo da Conceicao, currently a women's design director at Louis Vuitton, will soon take over the artistic director's chair at Sonia Rykiel. He'll show his first collection for Rykiel in a Fall 2013 runway show.

Before Vuitton, da Conceicao held senior design positions at Miu Miu and Yves Saint Laurent, where he worked under Tom Ford, Alber Elbaz, and Stefano Pilati.

To prepare for the staff change, Rykiel has canceled the show it planned to stage during Paris Fashion Week and will instead host a presentation for buyers and editors. It's believed Rykiel's current creative director April Crichton will part ways with the house.

Da Conceicao's hiring is part of a restructuring designed to expand the Rykiel brand internationally. The Rykiel family sold an 80 percent stake in the business to Fung Brands Ltd. in February and since then has seen a number of staff changes on its business team.

"We are opening a new chapter for the company," said Jean-Marc Loubier, chairman at Rykiel and president of Fung Brands. "We are sure [da Conceicao] will be able to take the Rykiel woman and make her international."

Rykiel herself has been a less and less present part of the brand recently. In the autobiography she released this Spring, the 81-year-old designer revealed a longstanding battle with Parkinson's disease.

Photo: The finale of Sonia Rykiel's Fall 2012 show.