fashionologie

Will Giles Deacon Be Able to Singlehandedly Pull Ungaro Out of Its Funk?

fashionologie — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:04:02 PDT

>> Cathy Horyn traces the faltering house of Ungaro and the resignation of former Ungaro CEO Mounir Moufarrige (the man responsible for hiring Lindsay Lohan), in the latest T magazine.

Three designers left under Moufarrige's reign, starting with Peter Dundas; tension reportedly built between the two when Moufarrige interfered with the creative side, Horyn reports: "The stylist George Cortina, who worked at Ungaro with Dundas, said, 'It was the worst experience I can remember,' recalling a 2 am scene when he warned Moufarrige, whom he found rearranging Dundas’s show lineup, that he would be thrown out a window if he continued meddling."

Moufarrige also said that Anna Wintour approved of appointing Lindsay Lohan »

Man Responsible for Bringing Lindsay Lohan to Ungaro Out, Lohan Stays Put

fashionologie — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:38:54 PST

>> There's been plenty of chatter about how long Lindsay Lohan would be staying on in her post as artistic advisor at Emanuel Ungaro, but it turns out she's not the first major casualty, after all. Instead, in a turn of events, Mounir Moufarrige, CEO and president of Ungaro since 2006 and the man who brought Lohan and design partner Estrella Archs on board at the brand, has resigned. Lohan, meanwhile, WWD reports, is staying on.

Replacing Moufarrige is Marie Fournier, the new general manager overseeing all operations, who is an 18-year Ungaro veteran and most recently VP of business development and licensing. Moufarrige will continue to advise Ungaro as a part of a strategic committee, according to the company's statement, but is "withdrawing" to devote more time to his other businesses.

Emanuel Ungaro's Mounir Moufarrige Does Not Believe in Bad Publicity

coutorture — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:14:59 PST

Despite the rumors regarding Lindsay Lohan being on her way out as artistic director of Emanuel Ungaro, CEO Mounir Moufarrige stands firmly behind his starlet:

“There are some girls out there that whenever they move, whatever they wear, they attract attention, even if they make mistakes. It’s all publicity,” Moufarrige said on the sidelines of a luxury conference in Milan. “We’ve got a celebrity and it’s a new concept, which we’re going ahead with.”

“[Ungaro], let’s recognize it, was a dormant brand, and now everybody’s talking about it today, so the level of awareness has improved greatly,” he added.

[WWD]

Source: Getty

Moufarrige: Lindsay Lohan Is Staying On at Ungaro

fashionologie — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:34:45 PST

>> Despite her critically panned debut collection for Ungaro Spring 2010 - which caused the label to be dropped from Neiman Marcus and Net-a-Porter (Barneys and Saks haven't carried it for a few seasons) - Lindsay Lohan will be continuing as artistic advisor, Ungaro president and CEO Mounir Moufarrige said earlier today. "Yes (she's staying on), she has a job to do."

Moufarrige told Reuters that the collection is selling well but not as much as expected: "There is more buzz definitely but we are in a recession." He added of the media snipes: "The criticism was harsh. I am sure we can do better in the collection to be honest but I think it was harsh . . . But it did sell well."

As for future collections from Lohan and design partner Estrella Archs, he needs them to "more tight, more identity driven." And of Emanuel Ungaro, who was recently quoted calling Lohan's collaboration "a disaster," Moufarrige quipped: "Mr. Ungaro has his views, he can keep them. I have no comment.".

Lindsay Lohan and Estrella Archs's First Emanuel Ungaro Collection for Spring 2010: The Reviews Are In (And Not Pretty)

fashionologie — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:50:41 PDT

>> Three weeks after they were tasked with designing the Spring 2010 Emanuel Ungaro collection, Estrella Archs and artistic advisor Lindsay Lohan took their runway bow - the former dragging the teary latter by the hand - yesterday to a beefed-up photographer's pit and an audience, many of whom just came because of the expected spectacle.

The result wasn't pretty: the collection's super-short minidresses and heart-shaped pasties peeking out of blazers and on the models' foreheads were ruled "a bad joke of a fashion show" by Style.com. Lohan's involvement was compared to "a McDonald’s fry cook taking the reins of a three-star Michelin restaurant" by the New York Times's Eric Wilson. Fabien Baron's take? "Call the fashion police!” And Harper's Bazaar's Glenda Bailey wouldn't even comment: “You know, if you don’t mind, I have to run out the door.” Even Dree Hemingway weighed in: "the first half might as well be alex wang last spring and i did see [Lohan] sporting that hot pink blazer of his..."

Lohan, who is reportedly being paid millions by Ungaro, called the show "the hardest thing I've ever done." Beforehand, she selected $150,000 worth of Ungaro clothes at the Paris flagship with CEO Mounir Moufarrige's blessing, supposedly cancelling an interview with Suzy Menkes. Some expect her to be gone before next season - even though she already said she was sketching for the next collection - but her contract is multiyear, and Moufarrige said his main goal in hiring her was to generate publicity, noting that he was suprised criticism hasn't been more negative. And even after the wave of bad reviews came out yeseterday, Ungaro's owner Asim Abdullah was defiant that either Lohan reignites the long-struggling Ungaro, or “we go down in a blaze of glory. Or unglory."

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Ungaro Taps Lindsay Lohan, Unknown Designer Estrella Archs to Collaborate, Create Some Noise for the Brand

fashionologie — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:26:59 PDT

>> Mounir Moufarrige, who famously replaced Karl Lagerfeld with 25-year-old Stella McCartney at Chloe in 1997, is at it again: He's signed an almost-unknown chief designer, Estrella Archs (left), and Lindsay Lohan as an "artistic adviser" to replace Esteban Cortazar at Emanuel Ungaro, in hopes that they will bring attention - good, bad, or otherwise - back to the brand. Their first collection - for Spring 2010 - is expected to be shown on the runway in Paris, and Archs and Lohan will likely come out together for the bow at the end.

Ungaro CEO Moufarrige decided to forego a proven, well-known designer, he told WWD, because the days of "designers in their ivory towers" are over. He thinks that Lohan will lend a vital "consumer" voice: "Designer-led fashion is likely not to be enough [for Ungaro]. It’s a slow process going the traditional route [because designers need a couple of years to get into the house's skin]. Not enough just doesn’t get you anywhere.” And he maintains that "it's not an act of desperation to get a real diva [like Lohan] involved. I like controversy."

Lohan now has a multiyear contract with the brand »

fashionologie — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:03:45 PDT

>> Esteban Cortazar, Ungaro Still Working Things Out -Despite rumors of creative differences and the serving of a lawsuit, Esteban Cortazar and Ungaro, who were expected to part ways, are still attempting to patch things up. Cortazar showed up to the CFDA Awards earlier this month, escorting Arlenis Sosa Pena in Ungaro and saying he was still with the company; further evidence came when the designer appeared at the Ungaro men's show last Thursday and confirmed that he is working on a pre-collection: "For now I am here." He exchanged a greeting with Ungaro CEO Mounir Moufarrige, who he has been at odds with, and when asked if Cortazar was back, Moufarrige was more evasive: "He's here," he said, pointing at the runway. [WWD]

Esteban Cortazar, Ungaro Expected to Part Ways

fashionologie — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:59:15 PDT

>> Ungaro has had a checkered past as far as designer retention goes, and it sounds like the tradition is carrying on. Just a few days after rumors hit that creative director Esteban Cortazar was threatening to leave the company, several sources confirm to WWD that the house and designer have reached an impasse over marketing and advertising strategy and plan to part ways.

CEO Mounir Moufarrige is keen to restart the label's provocative ad campaigns, which haven't been done for Ungaro womenswear for years, and is apparently pushing for a celebrity to "help wake up the house," WWD reports. Ungaro has been talking with six or so candidates, including Lindsay Lohan - hence Tuesday's rumors that she was being considered as a creative consultant to the house. However, those specific rumors have been disbanded: none of the celebrity candidates would have anything to do with design.

No potential successors to Cortazar have been mentioned, but Moufarrige is known for making unexpected choices; he replaced Karl Lagerfeld with Stella McCartney at Chloe in 1997, when she was 25.

fashionologie — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:43:37 PDT

>> Lindsay Lohan Already On the Outs at Ungaro? -Ungaro CEO Mounir Moufarrige seemed ready for all the diva moves new brand artistic director Lindsay Lohan might pull, but not even a week since her appointment was announced, she's already skipped a scheduled call with the Wall Street Journal and refused to pose for pictures at Ungaro's Fashion's Night Out event - and those are just the documented offenses. The latter move, however, has prompted a rumor that she might be fired . . . [The Cut Twitter]