vogue paris and wwd reported today that sophia kokosalaki is out as head designer at vionnet and is being replaced by marc audibet, formerly of hermés and prada. arnaud de lummen, ceo of vionnet, said that kokosalaki wasn’t fired, but they merely had different ideas for the direction of the line. de lummen wants expand the ready-to-wear collection and add accessories, and that having a designer devoted to the line fulltime was important to that expansion. kokosalaki, on the other hand, has had success with her namesake collection and will now have the time and energy to work on it.
the s/s 07 collection sold out within weeks of its arrival at barneys, and the f/w 07.08 collection was very well received by the press and buyers alike, with (barneys’ u.s. exclusive on the line (that will continue through for at least another year). i thought the looks were on the safe side, but there were some standout pieces, and i was looking forward to seeing her develop the line.
audibet will present his first collection for the house during couture week in july.
