The Italian Jobs

No show for Just Cavalli, Versus to relaunch, Valentino downsizes New York office
Tuesday, February 24, 2009

(NEW YORK) The Milan shows are gearing up for the Fall 2009 season, and Continental #44-bound editors are sure to experience a few seismic shifts after touching down at Malpensa. It was announced this morning that Roberto Cavalli's secondary line, Just Cavalli, will not be formally shown with a runway presentation, although the show was slated to take place this Thursday. "I took this decision to protect the brand and Just Cavalli customers," the designer said in a statement. "The difficult situation of Ittierre did not guarantee that I could be as avant-garde as usual with my youth line." Ittierre, which produces the Just Cavalli collection, filed for bankruptcy just over a week ago, citing financial problems.

Meanwhile, Versace plans to relaunch its bridge line Versus this season, with a preview on March 1 in Milan. The youth-focused collection was originally created by Gianni Versace in 1989 as a project for his sister Donatella Versace.

Valentino may show in Paris these days, but the Italian design house is having a shake-up of its own: The Daily has learned that Garine Zerounian, director of communications for the house, has been let go. Judy Bassaly, senior manager of marketing, will take over Zerounian's duties.