Valentino has just announced that their menswear designer, Ferruccio Pozzoni, has parted ways with the fashion house, or in other words, gotten canned. The designer is being let go even before his first collection for the house is presented, which means this firing must really sting.
Three months after the label replaced Alessandra Facchinetti and just a month after they announced there will be no menswear show come Fashion week - we have to wonder, is this all part of one giant make-over for the brand?
Apparently, the relatively new owners of Valentino, private equity group Permira, are "trying to broaden the brand's appeal and lure younger customers." But isn't trying to be young sort of besides the point at Valentino? We always thought the sophisticated, beautiful gowns Valentino's known for suited full-grown women far better than their teenage daughters. And besides, isn't firing two designers after such a short time at the house sort of hasty?
Pozzoni's successor has yet to be announced, but considering how short a time Facchinetti and Pozzoni lasted, we wonder how long the new designer will stick around.
--HAYLEY PHELAN
