the legendary couture house of Vionnet

Vionnet and Kokosalaki part ways

French fashion house Vionnet and its creative director Sophia Kokosalaki are ending their brief collaboration. The house said it has appointed former Hermès and Prada designer Marc Audibet to replace Kokosalaki, who joined Vionnet only last year. As the new artistic advisor for the legendary label, Audibet will show his first collection for Spring Summer 2008 during this upcoming couture season in Paris in July.

The Greek-born Kokosalaki will be focusing on her own label. Many in the industry are not surprised by the development, especially after Diesel owner Renzo Rosso acquired a majority stake in her label. Although Vionnet did not give an explanation for her departure in its press release, the house's chief executive, Arnaud de Lummen, told WWD: “We weren't displeased with Sophia. But we have our own ambitions and she has hers. We want to develop Vionnet and it will help that we have a designer devoted full-time to the task.”

In a statement Kokosalaki said: “It was interesting to contribute to the relaunch of Vionnet, but I realized it was the right time to move on, and I'm finally happy to focus my energy on my own label, which is growing very fast.” Audibet, 52, is described by Vionnet as a “visionary designer, inventor of the stretch”. He has worked at venerated fashion houses, including Hermès, Prada, Trusardi and Ferragamo. At Prada, where he worked for nine seasons, he was credited with helping to position the brand as a leader in the luxury market in the Nineties.

“We are delighted that Marc Audibet provides us, with all his sensibility to Vionnet, and enlarged vision of strategy and creativity,” De Lummen said in a statement. Madeleine Vionnet created her iconic label in 1912 and opened her first Parisian boutique in 1923, followed in 1925 by a boutique in New York. She was the first designer to translate couture looks to ready-to-wear for the US market. She was forced to close the business at the onset of World War II in 1939. The De Lummen family acquired the trademark Vionnet in 1988 and relaunched the label last year.

www.vionnet.com
22 May 2007

Kokosalaki to head up Vionnet

London-based Greek designer Sophia Kokosalaki has confirmed she is set to take over as creative director of the Parisian house of Vionnet. “It is such a great honour to be asked to work at Vionnet. It is an aesthetic that I completely admire and understand, and an approach towards designing that I relate and look up to,” the 33 year old St Martin’s graduate told Vogue. “It is definitely challenging but also exciting to continue a house with such a unique heritage. The fact that her work has been a recurrent reference of designers for almost a century now is a testimony to the genius and timelessness of Vionnet.”

Madeleine Vionnet founded her label in 1912 and opened her fashion house in Paris in 1923. She became a fashion legend, alongside Cristobal Balenciaga, Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent. She was the inventor of the bias-cut, attracting high-profile clients like Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo. She entered the US market in 1925 and became one of the first couturiers to adapt haute couture to ready-to-wear. She presented her last collection in 1939, yet the company continued to wield influence in the fashion industry.

Vionnet’s chief executive Arnaud de Lummen expressed his delight at Kokosalaki’s appointment. “Vionnet has one of the most exceptional fashion heritages and a timeless appeal,” he said. “Our return on the fashion scene will not be an ordinary revival but a unique and genuine approach to bring forward the Vionnet vision. Sophia, with her technical abilities and contemporary feminine vision, will be a rare position to honour the past of the House and invent its future.”
Her collections for Vionnet will launch in time for spring 2007 and will be exclusively available at Barneys New York, Beverly Hills, Dallas, Boston and Chicago and at the Vionnet Studio in Paris.

14 July 2006

Vionnet store in Kuwait

The Watelin de Lummen family, which owns the trademark for the Madeleine Vionnet brand, has signed an agreement with sheik Majed al Sabah. The agreement should assure the opening of a Madeleine Vionnet store in Kuwait this year. Majed al Sabah is the owner of Villa Moda, a luxury commercial centre in Kuwait.

Just a few days ago it was announced that the House of Vionnet will be reopened. The Italian designer Maurizio Pecoraro will lead the house. Interestingly, Kuwaiti retailer Majed Al-Sabeh also approached him last November.

www.vionnet.com
March 5, 2003

House of Vionnet to be reopened

The fashion world has been rocked by news that the legendary couture house of Vionnet is to be reopened - with the relatively unknown Italian designer Maurizio Pecoraro at the steering wheel.

Pecoraro, who will be showing his own label at Milan Fashion Week this week, was approached by Kuwaiti retailer Majed Al-Sabeh last November to help revive the spirit of Madeleine Vionnet. This reclusive fashion genius was responsible for introducing the bias-cut, the halter and the cowl neck over sixty years ago.

Pecoraro was chosen because he uses Vionnet's precise and unique technique of cutting clothes directly on the model. Pecoraro admits that he is as shocked as anyone by his new appointment. "I was really surprised at the news and so happy," the 42-year-old told Vogue Magzine on Tuesday. "I am extremely honoured that I am being asked to work in a house that has been a fountain of inspiration for the designers I admire most: Alaïa, Galliano, Yamamoto to name a few."

Pecoraro, who learned his technique from Gianni Versace, will unveil his first collection for the house during the haute couture shows in Paris in July. And he assures that he will stay true to the principles laid out by Vionnet, while bringing them sharply up-to-date. "Vionnet was well-known for her cutting techniques," he went on. "I plan on using these same techniques on beautiful daywear."

It will be a natural move for Pecoraro, whose own label features items that are abundant, without being over the top. Meanwhile, for his latest ready-to-wear collection, to be shown off-schedule in Milan on February 28, the designer drew inspiration from the idea of a young modern-day princess. "I was inspired by an aristocratic girl who cares for the way she dresses and always pays attention to detail," he said.

Madeleine Vionnet was born in Paris in 1876. Her working life began in the Parisian suburbs when she was twelve. She worked as a seamstress in London, but couldn't forget Paris. In 1912 she opened her own fashion house, which grew over time to employ more than a thousand people.

Her designs were not only elegant and modern, but slinky and sexy. Every actress, princess, and society woman wanted a Vionnet gown. By the thirties, her creations had helped polish the star images of Marlene Dietrich and Katherine Hepburn. She used materials such as crêpe de chine, gabardine, and satin; these were unusual in women's wear, but Vionnet brought them to life.