Rochas

>> INSIDER WIRE —Marco Zanini, who is busy at work on his first collection for the recently-resurrected Rochas, took some time out to attend the Jil Sander men's show on Saturday in Milan.  He wouldn't give away any hints on his work, only saying that it will span a range of day to eveningwear — which means, just like management wanted, the label won't be anything like when Olivier Theyskens was head designer. [WWD]

>> Olivier Theyskens left a shuttered Rochas with a closet full of delicate gowns in 2006, but now that the house is being resurrected under newly-appointed creative director Marco Zanini, expect anything but more of those gowns.

According to Franco Pene, president of Gibo, the brand's new licensee, the brand will be much more straightforward than in the past: "We’re not looking to generate editorial hype, because we’re thinking of a sensibly priced luxury brand that caters to the everyday needs of women.  In other words, real clothes that are useful and beautiful. Zanini understands that we don’t want to be a status brand."

Pene sees the brand's forte not being in expensive red-carpet gowns like those of Theyskens, but rather in the day-to-day; Zanini was chosen for "his penchant for daywear and the fact that he will be fully dedicated to the line without having to divide his energy with a namesake collection."  Come March 2009, it will be interesting to see how Zanini turns over Rochas' new leaf.
*image: source

>> Confirming rumors, Marco Zanini has been named the man for the newly-resurrected house of Rochas. His first collection will show next March in Paris for the Fall 2009 season, with obvious hopes that he will last longer and achieve better critical reception than he did during his two-season stint at Halston, which he left in July.

Zanini put in nine years at Versace before he was tapped to rejevunate Halston in July 2007, making this new appointment his second brand restart in as many years.  Judging by the Versace education and the sleek, simplified look Zanini sent down the runway at Halston, the new Rochas may be quite different than Olivier Theysken's ethereal vision at Rochas when the brand was shuttered back in 2006.  But one thing's for sure — Zanini's Halston designs did well at retail, so there's hope that he can keep Rochas afloat.
*image: source

>> Just hours after we learned that Rochas's ready-to-wear department is being opened back up, designer names are already being thrown around to head the comeback.  More specifically one name — Marco Zanini, the designer who just a few months back was ousted from Halston.

Although his role in that brand rejuvenation didn't work out so well, he is currently in talks to design Rochas, since former Rochas designer Olivier Theyskens is happily holed up at Nina Ricci and all.  No confirmation from Rochas's new ready-to-wear producer Gibo just yet, but we're sure to hear something — confirmation or not — sooner rather than later, since they have a collection to get started on for March 2009.
*image: source

>> Two years after Procter & Gamble shuttered the ready-to-wear portion of Rochas, leaving Olivier Theyskens temporarily without a job, they're ready to open back up for business.

The company has signed a licensing agreement with Italy's Gibo SpA — owned by Japanese apparel maker Onward Holdings Co., which has also produced clothes for Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors — to produce Rochas ready-to-wear once again, with the first collection debuting in March 2009.

There is no designer attached yet — at least not publicly, but one has to wonder: A new opportunity for Alessandra Facchinetti? And why would they resurrect the brand now, in this economic climate, when it was shut the first time around because it was losing too much money?  Not that it's not exciting to see it back . . .
*image: source

Procter & Gamble Co has found a way to reopen the Rochas fashion house thanks to a licensing agreement with Italian manufacturer Gubo.Co SpA to produce ready-to-wear apparel under the Rochas brand. The announcement was just confirmed by WWD who says the first collection will be shown in March 2009. Olivier Theyskens, Rochas' former designer is currently at Nina Ricci.

We always thought Diane Von Furstenberg was more of a Marvel Comics girl than a D.C Comics girl but now we may have to reconsider. With “Be the Wonder Woman You Can Be, Featuring the Adventures of Diva, Viva & Fifa, one of the stories revolves around who Diva finds herself in a downtown bar to celebrate a male colleague’s successful leveraged buyout and his pending promotion. It turns out, however, that Diva was the brains behind the project. You go Girl! However, D.C has traditionally been the more fantastical of the two comic book houses as Marvel sets its universe in present America. And we all know successful leveraged buyouts are a thing of the past. Guess its a good thing DVF went with D.C Comics.

Frette is feeling a little worried about its image announcing that it has a new line of more affordable yoga and loungewear to go with its $1,500 sheets.

Top womenswear labels are bracing for the psychological impact of the global financial turmoil.

Monstreal Fashion Week starts next Tuesday.

Roberto Crivello and Savania Davies-Keiller’s new 2,500-square-foot DDCLab flagship at 7 Mercer Street in SoHo highlights the designers’ use of high-tech fabrics and performance design