Theyskens, the darling of fashion forward stylists and a certain sort of retailer, was one of 30 Rochas staff informed last week that they would be getting pink slips.
Oh, I know; How awful... and just to think the news came as a major surprise given that this spring Theyskens, 29, was awarded International Designer of the Year by the CFDA, American fashion's governing body.
However, after several years of losses, Procter and Gamble pulled the plug on Rochas despite all the critical kudos. P and G, which will continue producing the Rochas fragrances it inherited when it acquired Wella's beauty portfolio in 2003, clearly does not consider fashion an essential area for growth.
"After four years of support, Procter and Gamble plans to stop its investment… in this company which is not part of our core business," P and G said in a statement. Yeah, what do they know, they sell toilet paper.
Rochas hired Theyskens as artistic director in November 2001. The designer with the Gothic looks first gained recognition for the outfit he designed for Madonna for the 1998 Oscars.
Theyskens was briefly courted by LVMH boss Bernard Arnault for the position of couturier at Givenchy, a job that eventually went to Julien Macdonald.
"Olivier Theyskens is now free to do whatever he wants. There is no restriction on him relaunching his own label," a P and G spokesman told FWD.
On joining Rochas, Theyskens stopped his eponymous collection amid reports of tension between the designer and his backer, Belgian lawyer Isabelle Stevens.
Speculation in Paris is that Theyskens will reignite his own label, though whether it is with Stevens remains to be seen.
Stevens, who held a majority interest in Theyskens name, did not return calls to her offices in Belgium and San Marino. Theyskens was unavailable for comment.
P and G inherited the Rochas fashion and fragrance divisions in its $6.9 billion acquisition of Wella's portfolio, which also included the Anna Sui, Montblanc, Escada and Gucci fragrances, though Rochas was the sole fashion holding.
The multinational stressed that, looking ahead, it would consider possible other solutions for Rochas, and underlined that it would continue Rochas licensing business. P and G apparently offered as a license the Rochas fashion business, but was greeted only by requests to buy both the Rochas fashion and fragrance brands together.
Moreover, recent history is littered with fashion houses unsuccessfully managed by far bigger beauty companies. L'Oreal sold off its Lanvin fashion holding and Groupe Clarins reined in the Thierry Mugler fashion brand even as its scents sales boomed.
Closing down even a medium-sized business takes several months under French labor law and the Rochas fashion division won't be fully closed until October.
Retailers expect Rochas fall/winter ready-to-wear collection to be shipped, and are holding out hope that Theyskens' last ideas for Rochas would become collectors' items.
Theyskens' shows for Rochas were consistently packed out events during Paris fashion week. When he joined Rochas four years ago, he was already a critically acclaimed young designer with a distinctive voice.
However, the failure of Theyskens and Rochas to build a substantial accessories business for ultimately doomed a business better known for wildly expensive gowns that reached as high as $35,000 at retail.
You're telling me- I couldn't never get a pair of shoes that were my size or that fit right. Well, maybe next time, Olivier.
Best wishes for the future.
