>> Former Valentino vice president of worldwide public relations and the designer's right-hand man Carlos Souza, who exited the company where he worked for over twenty years after his contract ran out in January 2008, is back in place.

Souza, who left the house after Valentino's farewall couture show in January 2008 before Alessandra Facchinetti took the reins, is widely credited with growing the brand's devoted clientele and celebrity fan base and producing the runway and party spectaculars that took the brand to the global level.  Between Facchinetti and current Valentino designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, the house has struggled to define itself post-Valentino — the latter designers have received unenthusiastic reviews for both collections they've presented.

Just in time for their third effort — the Fall 2009 Couture show in July — Souza has quietly been brought back to head up public relations in the US, a move many insiders consider to be in efforts to get the brand back on track — re-attracting the strayed celebrity ambassadors, included.