Peter Som Resigns from Bill Blass; Blass to Close

[kimair]

and the designer merry-go-round continues...
from wwd...

Peter Som has reportedly resigned as creative director at Bill Blass, a year to the day since he joined the company.

Bill Blass’ decision to scrap the September fashion show in Bryant Park, due to financial woes, was said to be the last straw for Som, according to industry sources.

The designer label has been on the selling block for months, prompted in part by angry shareholders at its cash-strapped parent company NexCen Brands Inc. Bill Blass executives have been trying to persuade Som to delay his departure for fear the negative publicity would be detrimental to any potential financial suitors.

Som had been attempting to update the label with what he called “simple and effortless clothes that embody luxury — just like the photographs of Slim Aarons.” The women’s collection is believed to be a $15 million wholesale business, and licensing generates an estimated $250 million at retail. Throughout Som’s yearlong run at Blass, he has continued to design his own signature collection.

Reports of Som’s departure first appeared on fashionista.com.

Bill Blass executives did not return calls for comment.

Michael Bastian, who designs the men’s collection, said he has no plans to follow Som’s lead. “I’m sticking it out until they figure it out. I really love the potential of the brand.”

After resigning earlier this week, Som has reportedly been meeting with Bill Blass management to try to negotiate getting out of his contract. As of Thursday night, that was something that had yet to be achieved.

“They’re not letting him go,” said one source.

But without any runway show planned for Bryant Park, Som’s outlook is said to be, “Why should I be here?”

A statement released Thursday from NexCen and Som said, “Due to the restructuring of the Bill Blass brand, NexCen and Bill Blass creative director Peter Som have decided to forgo a runway show during this interim period and are now considering presenting a collection to retailers this season.” Officials couldn’t be reached for comment on Som’s departure.

All this turmoil has arisen at a time when NexCen is said to be nearing a sale of the designer house. Bankers and buyers eyeing the Blass brand have pegged a purchase price range of $26 million to $28 million. Still, the high-end price of $28 million is just more than half of the $54.6 million paid by NexCen in cash and stock for the brand in December 2006.

 

[Spike413]

I'm torn on how I feel about this.

On the one hand, it sounds like Som is having a bit of a diva moment. He still could've been there to present the collection to retailers and editors and whatever, suck it up and at least see the collection through before deciding to leave or not.

On the other I think it's foolish of the company to scrap the runway presentation. BB still isn't in a place where it's a compelling label. As far as elegant, luxurious sportswear you've got de la Renta, Herrera and co. that deliver on that to much more fanfare. Bill Blass needs to be competitive in that sense and the runway is essential to that.

I can definitely see why they're hesitant to let him out of his contract, right now he's the best thing going for the label.

 

[papa_levante]

"Peter Som Out at Bill Blass?" July 24, 2008 -
- Fashionista

Fashion week is descending upon us and the rumor mill is in overdrive but this just landed in our inbox and something rings true:

After only three collections, Peter Som has submitted his resignation at Bill Blass. Perhaps he can't handle the stress of designing more than one collection? Let's face it, he's no Marc or Karl.

Word is management at Nexcen is keen on keeping him on board, at least in name, until they can sell the brand.

The tip comes a little over a month after The New York Times wrote this story about Nexcen's financial troubles in which they pointedly question the security of the brand's future.

Design wise Som seemed to be doing fine. Maybe it's the lack of profits and business side he just can't, or doesn't want, to handle.

UPDATE: Another tipster writes in, "Som was unhappy with the control Blass' management tried to execute over his creative aesthetic. He's been fighting with them since he got there."

 

[kimair]

Following yesterday's reports on fashionista.com that Peter Som abruptly resigned from his post of creative director at Bill Blass, a year to the day after his hiring, The Daily has learned that the designer is currently contractually obligated to present his spring 2009 collection for the house during New York's Fashion Week. Som has struggled with corporate owner NexCen over both creative and financial issues (most recently, the decision to forgo a formal runway presentation in favor of an editor presentation), despite the fact that his first collection for the house was well-received. It is said that Som is working furiously to find a way out of his contract.

At the time of his appointment last July, Peter Som was hearalded as a brilliant choice to restore the house of Bill Blass back to the former glory bestowed by its namesake. Unfortunately, the house became a revolving door for designers following Blass' retirement in 1999. Steven Slowik, Lars Nilsson and, most recently, Michael Vollbracht have struggled to reinvent the women's wear collections, with varying degrees of success. Vollbracht departed the company abruptly last year after several heated confrontations with NexCen management.

On the menswear front, Peter Som's hire was quickly followed by the appointment of Michael Bastian, a well-regarded designer, as creative director. His first collection for the house will bow for spring 2009. Once the ownership situation is settled, the brand will decide if the collection will be shown via a runway show, editor presentation or merely press appointments.

NexCen's brand portfolio is relatively fashion-lite. In addition to Bill Blass, the company also owns The Athlete's Foot and Shoebox New York franchising rights, as well as home furnishings powerhouse Waverly. The bulk of its business comes from food enterprises, namely Great American Cookies, Pretzelmaker & Pretzel Time, MaggieMoo's and Marble Slab Creamery.

NexCen acquired Bill Blass in Februrary 2007 for $54.6 million. The brand is currently on the block, hoping to fetch a price in the $26 to $28 million dollar range. "The potential of this brand is enormous," Bastian told The Daily. "And I'm happy to stay with it until the ownership situation is settled. Bill Blass, in the right hands, could become the American Gucci."

Rumors abound that, should NexCen fail to find a buyer for Bill Blass, the company will shutter its costly ready-to-wear operations in favor of focusing on its profitable licenses, which earn an estimated $250 million at retail.

fashionweekdaily

 

[Yanka]

It's always sad to see a label or a designer go but can't say I didn't see it coming.

 

[kimair]

source: wwd, 7.28.08

The Bill Blass saga continues.

According to a source close to the negotiations, Peter Som, creative director at Bill Blass, is still working with NexCen Brands Inc. to determine the best way to proceed with the spring 2009 collection.

Contrary to reports, the source said Som can get out of his contract at any time, and his resignation last week did not come as a result of the decision to forego a runway show this September.

Issues between Som and Blass’ owners have been brewing for a while, with NexCen unable to financially support the line in the way Som envisions is required for a Collection business. According to sources, NexCen’s financial constraints has meant that much of the talent Som brought in hasn’t been paid in months.

Som himself is said to be upset at the situation, but willing to collaborate with NexCen to find a solution, which could involve a spring collection to be shown to retailers only in the company showroom. Som couldn’t be reached for comment.

The source believes that Som would “definitely” continue at Blass should NexCen be able to sell the brand to an owner that can support the business in a way that can make it a success.

As reported, the designer label has been on the selling block for months, a move prompted in part by angry shareholders at its cash-strapped parent NexCen. It is believed that NexCen is getting close to making a deal.

Windsong Brands LLC and Hilco Consumer Capital are said to be looking at Blass. Arnold Simon’s Designer Licensing Holdings, the Blass jeanswear licensee and owner of 10 percent of the Blass trademark, is also reportedly interested, as are the Iconix Brand Group and Phillips-Van Heusen Corp.

 

[chessmess]

i hope he stays

 

[fashionista-ta]

If it's true that the people he brought on board haven't been paid in months, I'm sure that's very upsetting ...

 

[kimair]

wwd / october 30. 2009

Peter Som and Bill Blass have agreed to part ways, ending the designer’s role as creative director of Bill Blass women’s wear.

Som left when his contract expired a week and a half ago, industry sources said.

“This was an extremely difficult decision for me,” Som said. “At this time, however, I have chosen to focus on my own namesake collection and the development of the Peter Som brand.”

The departure wasn’t unexpected. There were rumblings in July that the designer was contemplating an exit. He continued working with NexCen Brands Inc., which owns Blass, to figure out how to proceed with the spring 2008 collection, which eventually was shown to retailers only.

The decision to scrap the September fashion show in Bryant Park was believed to be the last straw for Som, sources said. The designer was said to be upset because NexCen hasn’t been able to financially support the Collection business in the manner that Som had envisioned.

A source close to the situation said Som had a difficult time putting together a collection when key resources, such as fabric vendors and even embroiderers, hadn’t been paid. Other sources said delayed payments occurred in some cases even before the May disclosure by NexCen that it had to sell assets in order to generate enough cash to meet a $30 million loan payment as part of its acquisition of Great American Cookie.

Another problem for Som was that, while NexCen understood franchising and how to manage its quick-service restaurant holdings, the firm “knew very little about how to run a luxury brand, much less rebrand one,” said an industry source familiar to the NexCen operation.

“Peter Som’s design direction was instrumental in helping the Bill Blass brand stay relevant in the minds of consumers,” Bill Blass president Craig Hoffman said. “We thank him for his contributions and wish him success in the future.”

Regarding a possible sale of Bill Blass, sources familiar with the process acknowledged that it has taken longer than expected. That delay influenced Som’s decision, and has made some retailers that supported the brand passing on the spring 2009 collection because of uncertainty over ownership, said a source close to the Blass operation.

The firm has received a mix of interest from bidders, with a few interested in licensing and another interested in just the couture business, said a source familiar with the bidding process. Another source said there had been just a handful of bidders circling around Blass.

One mergers and acquisitions expert familiar with the process said, “The economic conditions are not helpful,” referring to the financial crisis on Wall Street. The source expected that a sale likely would take place before yearend.

NexCen has sold its Waverly Brands home furnishings operation to Iconix Brand Group Inc. for $26 million in cash, plus the assumption of future liabilities.

For now, Prabal Gurung, who has long served as Bill Blass’ second-ranking design director, will be working with the existing team for the fall 2009 collection, said another source.

Som succeeded Michael Vollbracht, who is said to have stormed out last year after one too many run-ins with management. Vollbracht joined the company in 2003, replacing Lars Nilsson, another designer who made a hasty retreat. Steven Slowik was the first designer to try to fill the shoes of the company’s namesake, who retired in 1999. Blass, who died in 2002, started his company in 1970.

The Blass women’s collection is believed to be a $15 million wholesale business, and licensing generates an estimated $250 million at retail, industry sources said.

Michael Bastian, creative director of the men’s wear collection at Blass, is staying on at the firm, sources said.

 

[educo]

If it's true that the people he brought on board haven't been paid in months, I'm sure that's very upsetting ...

It is true. I was told this when the news first broke out, and at that time, EVERYONE on the staff haven't been paid in 6 months.

 

[kimair]

nytimes / december 17, 2008

Nearly a decade after Bill Blass retired from Seventh Avenue, the company that bears his name is closing, with many of its remaining staff expected to leave this week. According to current and former designers who have carried on the collection in recent years, the company will close its showroom at 550 Seventh Avenue and eliminate about 30 remaining jobs there as early as Friday.

Craig Hoffman, the president of Bill Blass, declined to comment on Wednesday.

Michael Vollbracht, who designed the line from 2003 to 2007, said that several of his former colleagues had informed him of the company’s plans to close, given the economic climate. The label was put up for sale earlier this year by its parent company, NexCen Brands Inc., which announced in May that it was facing a severe cash squeeze. Bill Blass has since canceled its spring collection, and its latest designer, Peter Som, left the company in October and has not been replaced.

According to executives and designers still at the company, NexCen is still trying to sell the Bill Blass name with the hope that another company will later revive the runway collection.

This week, the company has been selling samples from Mr. Blass’s collections, along with boxes of Manolo Blahnik shoes that were used in runway shows, at discounts of 90 percent, but the broader archives appear to be headed to Indiana University in Bloomington, where a retrospective of Mr. Blass’s work was held shortly after he died in 2002.

“The demise of Bill Blass is not just saddening,” Mr. Vollbracht said.

“It’s another rude awakening to this industry, I think.”

 

[leyla m.]

=(

that is all i got to say!

 

[JustABoy]

WWD / December 29, 2008

Ten million dollars, cash.

That was the relatively small sum paid to NexCen Brands Inc. for Bill Blass, one of American fashion’s most venerable names, signaling how far the brand has fallen since its heyday under its legendary founder. The buyer, Peacock International Holdings LLC, beat out a number of other bidders and plans initially to push the brand even further into the mainstream.

The new owner hinted, however, that it could one day fund a return to the runway for Blass — if, that is, it can find a designer who can adequately interpret the brand, which none of its previous owners have been able to do over the last decade.

I wonder what return to the mainstream means ...