doo.ri

A little more than six months after designer Doo-Ri Chung left her eponymous New York label, she's headed to Los Angeles to become the creative director of Vince. In her new role, Chung will be in charge of design, product development, and creative branding initiatives.

"I've long admired the [Vince] brand because of its loyal customer following and its modern design sensibility," Chung said in a statement to WWD.

The announcement of her new job comes a day after Vince's cofounders, Rea Laccone and Christopher LaPolice, said they were leaving the brand. Jill Granoff, CEO of Kellwood Group — the company that owns Vince, Rebecca Taylor, and David Meister, among other brands — is now also CEO of Vince.

Granoff wants to "accelerate the growth of Vince and unleash its potential as a global lifestyle brand," and said Chung is the right designer to help do that. "She's very well-known for her design and technical aesthetic. She has a modern design aesthetic and a real understanding of our customer."

Doo-Ri Chung is leaving Doo.Ri, the award-winning clothing company she founded in 2001.

The designer offered no explanation for the exit, and neither did the Tharanco Group, which owns the brand. In a statement Thursday, the Tharanco Group said it "wishes Chung well in all her future endeavors." This exit is reminiscent of Simon Spurr's departure from his eponymous menswear company, which he left without explanation in March.

Chung graduated from Parsons in 1995 and worked for Geoffrey Beene for six years before founding her own company. Chung launched her signature collection in 2003. In 2006, she was a winner of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and won the CFDA's up-and-coming designer of the year award. Since then she's dressed First Lady Michelle Obama, and this year she designed a capsule collection for Macy's.

Photo: Doo-Ri Chung backstage at her Fall 2012 runway show.

Doo.Ri turned out stunning blue and black combinations, marble and diamond-shaped prints, and even some basic winter staples like a motorcycle jacket and military pants. The biggest runway highlight: a smattering of crystal, beads, and sequins in the most unlikely of places!

Doo-Ri Chung's fall 2010 collection shown at Chelsea's Eyebeam Gallery yesterday started off with two strong navy and black looks—first a sharp jacket with a draped hem paired with slim trousers, followed by a military style shirtdress that fell lose around the hips with the same black netting.

Chung's military-inspired pieces, especially the pants which had buckles hanging off the hips and diagonal snaps along the thigh, were among her best looks. The black and blue theme carrying over through one almost electric blue-dyed fox fur coat with black leather trim and a series of cropped jackets, one which changed from blue to black depending on the light and one whose marble print was reminiscent of Doo.Ri spring 2010.

Skipping over the moments of geranium red and crystal-encrusted everything (leggings, jersey dresses, even the models lips were painted pale blue and made glittery), the show ended on a high note with two long and lean evening looks, most memorable in a gray suede sleeveless top and floor-length narrow skirt.