Blass Backwards

(NEW YORK) 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 February 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.
ASHLEY BAKER & NOLA WEINSTEIN