>> Olivier Theyskens left a shuttered Rochas with a closet full of delicate gowns in 2006, but now that the house is being resurrected under newly-appointed creative director Marco Zanini, expect anything but more of those gowns.

According to Franco Pene, president of Gibo, the brand's new licensee, the brand will be much more straightforward than in the past: "We’re not looking to generate editorial hype, because we’re thinking of a sensibly priced luxury brand that caters to the everyday needs of women.  In other words, real clothes that are useful and beautiful. Zanini understands that we don’t want to be a status brand."

Pene sees the brand's forte not being in expensive red-carpet gowns like those of Theyskens, but rather in the day-to-day; Zanini was chosen for "his penchant for daywear and the fact that he will be fully dedicated to the line without having to divide his energy with a namesake collection."  Come March 2009, it will be interesting to see how Zanini turns over Rochas' new leaf.
*image: source