Following the departure of Peter Som, Fashion Week Daily is reporting that possibly within a month it may be announced that Richard Chai will be taking over the creative reigns at Bill Blass. However, neither Chai nor Bill Blass’ holding company, Peacock Holdings LLC – who bought the company from Nexcen for about 10 million dollars at the end of December 2008 following the demise of Bill Blass – has made a public statement. That said, a rep for Peacock did reveal that a new creative director would be announced in the coming weeks.
Given the economic downturn and the drama surrounding Som’s leave – and the subsequent laying off of 80 percent of the Bill Blass staff, including employees who had been with the brand since its inception – it’s shocking that things seem to be looking-up so quickly for the once-iconic brand.
Chai, who in addition to his namesake line which he launched in 2004 has collaborated on a number of occasions with Target, and is also credited with helping to launch the Marc by Marc Jacobs line. Given his simple and clean aesthetic, Chai seems like a natural fit as the creative director for Bill Blass. The designer’s latest collections have been very well received and he was a top-ten finalist for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund last year – a very good year indeed for the designer.
A Bill Blass runway show is expected for the Spring/Summer 2010 season in September.
Images courtesy of the Fashion Spot forums.
