Rochas fashion label to close

Olivier Theyskens, 29, the designer at the helm of French fashion house Rochas who just months ago won the International Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, is out of a job.

The Rochas fashion label will close after fall deliveries, with owner Procter & Gamble keeping the name for fragrances only.

The Paris-based brand had been reinvented to great acclaim by Theyskens, whose thoughtful collections were a highlight of Paris Fashion Week. He shook things up by showing “hunchback” gowns, an elongated silhouette of high-neck blouses and floor-length skirts in fabrics recalling Monet’s water lilies, and most recently, lean pantsuits in sooty grays inspired by chimney sweeps.

But as is often the case in fashion, talent did not translate into profit. And with gowns priced as high as $35,000, Rochas was a tough sell.

Founded in 1925 but closed after Marcel Rochas’ death in 1955, the fashion label was relaunched by Rochas fragrances owner Wella in 1990. But even after the high-profile appointment of Theyskens in 2003, ready-to-wear was still a small part of the business.

P&G;’s acquisition of Wella that same year meant the business was owned by a consumer-products giant focused on money-making core brands, including a $1-billion designer perfume portfolio, and little interest in the unpredictable, namely fashion.

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Booth Moore