Pierre-Yves Roussel

>> Yesterday, Opening Ceremony's Humberto Leon and Carol Lim welcomed editors and buyers to view their first, contemporary-slanted Kenzo collection — for Spring 2012 — at company headquarters. Giant, brightly-colored block K, E, N, Z, and O letters were lying about, a remix of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” was playing on the loudspeaker, and their friend Chloe Sevigny closed the parade of models in a blue jumpsuit.

“We kind of put our feelers out that we were available to do something,” Leon said of how they got the job — they were two of 30 candidates interviewed. “We wanted to do a big project that felt ——” “—— creative and exciting,” said Lim, finishing his sentence.

And it seems that they succeeded, according to Style.com: "Reactions at the presentation and afterward leaned toward raves." Added WWD: "The knowingly hip outfits probably missed the duo’s ambition of designing for 'all different types of bodies and ages,' as Leon said, but they delivered enough of a jolt to successfully reposition Kenzo as a more accessible contemporary label." Most of all, sounds like Lim and Leon will be sticking around a while — LVMH executive Pierre-Yves Roussel, who interviewed all 30 Kenzo candidates, noted of the collection: "It was exactly what we wanted."

>> LVMH has appointed Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, the 36-year-old co-founders of Opening Ceremony, as creative directors of Kenzo, effective immediately. They replace Antonio Marras, who joined Kenzo in 2004, and will show their first Kenzo collection in October for Spring 2012.

Under Leon and Lim, Kenzo is to be repositioned in the contemporary sector, with prices expected to range from 200 euros to 1,500 euros ($285 to $2,135).

"It’s great to bring this young, contemporary generation into Kenzo,” said Pierre-Yves Roussel, chairman and CEO of LVMH’s fashion division. “They’re really embracing what was the origin of Kenzo — that Jungle spirit.” Roussel interviewed a wide range of both young and experienced designers for the position, he said, but was struck by the “360-degree vision of the fashion industry” Leon and Lim have. He added that Marras had been “respectful of the heritage of the brand . . . What we need now is something which has more energy, which is looking forward in terms of addressing a new generation.”

While the pair are not trained as designers, they expect to “build an exciting team” of designers to realize their vision for Kenzo. Leon said that while he sketches ideas, “we’ve always worked in a team community.”

They plan to continue with Opening Ceremony, and split their time between Paris and New York.

>> Pierre-Yves Roussel, CEO of LVMH's fashion division, has been spotted sitting in Rodarte's front row every season as far back as February 2009. At the most recent show in February, he would only say of his presence: “We still love what they do.”

Now comes word that LVMH and Laura and Kate Mulleavy have held on-and-off discussions about an acquisition since Spring. The talks have reportedly recently trailed off, with no deal currently in the works, and neither party was available for comment.

Rodarte does tend to be more about buzz than strong financial incentives: the brand reportedly has estimated annual revenues of less than $2 million and is incurring losses.

>> After Michael Kors left Celine in 2004, the brand floundered. To rectify the situation, Pierre-Yves Roussel, chief executive of LVMH's fashion division, traveled to London every other week for nearly a year to persuade Phoebe Philo to come on board at the brand.  The company also agreed to build her a design studio in London, where she lives with her young family.  Eighteen months ago, Philo signed on.

For a fresh start, LVMH destroyed all of the inventory left in stores before Philo's first collection.  All but one Celine store was closed in the United States, ties to less exclusive retailers like Bloomingdale's and Net-a-Porter were cut, the accent was restored to the brand's name, and bag production is no longer outsourced to China — each in a bid to elevate the brand.

Eventually, there will be more affordable offerings »

>> LVMH Still Keeping Front Row Eye on Rodarte —For the second season in a row, Pierre-Yves Roussel, CEO of LVMH's fashion division, who plays a key role in spotting talent for LVMH labels, was front row at Rodarte.  When asked about possible placement of Laura and Kate Mulleavy within the LVMH portfolio, Roussel played coy. All he would say: "We still love what they do." [WWD Blog]

>> INSIDER WIRE —It was only a matter of time with their couture-like capabilities: Pierre-Yves Roussel, CEO of LVMH's fashion division, was in attendance at Rodarte today.  Although LVMH sources say that none of their houses are currently in need of a design switch-up, it appeared that Laura and Kate Mulleavy were being scouted just in case.  This is not the first notable case of up-and-coming talent scouting this week — Sir Philip Green sat front row at Alexander Wang. [WWD]
*image: source