Here We Go Again: Bill Blass Hires Jeffrey Monteiro As Its New Design Director

Since its founder retired in 1999, Bill Blass Ltd. has gone through a slew of owners and designers. On December 17, current owners Peacock International Holdings hired Mayle and Derek Lam alum Jeffrey Monteiro as the brand’s new design director.

Monteiro is clearly talented–I am actually a huge fan of his work, especially what he did at Mayle– but I don’t think this sounds promising.

Why?

1. None of these past arrangements have ended well. NexCen’s acquisition of the brand in 2007 was particularly scandalous. While designer Peter Som’s attempt at reviving the label was well-received by buyers–sales went from $2 million 2006 to $34 million in 2007–there were plenty of problems behind the scenes.

NexCen, an acquisition and management company with an expertise in food retail, revealed that it had “forgotten” to include $21 million worth of debt on its balance sheet, which means it had to sell one of its companies immediately in order to avoid going bankrupt. (It ended up restructuring its debt and was de-listed from the NASDAQ stock market. At the end of 2008, NexCen finally sold Bill Blass to Peacock.)

2. I’m a huge proponent of reviving a once-dead fashion house by injecting new talent, but…I think the reason the folks behind Blass–meaning all owners and designers from 1998 until now–have not succeeded has plenty to do with timing. Might it be too soon after the namesake’s reign to revive the brand? The ones that have been truly successful–Chanel, Chloe, Lanvin–have been afforded huge gaps between the time the original designer was working and the time the new designer came on board.

Even Calvin Klein’s successor Francisco Costa–whose clothes are beloved by fashion insiders–doesn’t do it for me. It’s not Calvin Klein–it’s Francisco Costa by Calvin Klein–and while that’s nice, it doesn’t have the same appeal as the man whose clothes I admired so much as a child. (My mom and dad were both Calvin devotees.)

3. What’s more, even if the talent is there–as it is with Monteiro–the management may not be up for the challenge. I don’t have to explain that Peacock and LVMH–who successfully revived such labels as Louis Vuitton and Celine–are two very different companies: One has never dealt in high fashion; the other rules high fashion. Halston is another example of a label whose revival suffered from an unprepared management team. (Although the team–including Harvey Weinstein–is trying again for Fall 2010 with London “it” designer Marios Schwab.)

While I wish Monteiro and the new Blass team the best of luck, I hope that they understand this: Legacy is a gift, but it’s not a guarantee.