Diddy suspends women's line

Sean "Diddy" Combs has shut down the contemporary women's line Sean by Sean Combs first launched last year, reports WWD. The hiphopper turned style guru's line had been much anticipated.

"Beginning with the fall 2006 season, we will be suspending the Sean by Sean Combs line," said a spokesman for the brand. "We're putting it on hiatus in order to concentrate on our new business with G-III for the Sean John women's line. We are not ruling out the possibility of this brand coming back in due time." He added that the spring and pre-fall collections would still be sold in stores as planned.

Combs announced his interest in establishing a women's sportswear line back in 2000. Although he delayed the launch several times, he first sent a few women's wear looks down the runway after his men's wear show in 2004. At the time he said the collection would hit stores that summer, but again he delayed the launch. When Sean by Sean Combs finally launched last June, Diddy said: "I want women to come into my world. I want to show the diversity of this young, fun, sexy, sophisticated woman. This is the woman we aspire to have. This is the woman the Sean John man wants."

Sales of Sean by Sean Combs proved disappointing by Combs' standards. During its first six months of retail, the collection generated $3.5 million (£2 million) in wholesale volume. However, he was used to generating $450 million at retail with his men's wear collection.

Two weeks ago, Combs signed a licensing agreement with G-III Apparel Group to manufacture and distribute the young contemporary women's sportswear range called Sean John. This collection is scheduled to launch in spring 2007, with G-III chief executive Morris Goldfarb predicting a growth to $100 million at wholesale.

At the time Combs stated that the two women's brands could definitely coexist while targeting different customers. Sean John would mirror the men's wear in terms of distribution and price point, targeting a younger contemporary shopper. Meanwhile, Sean by Sean Combs would cater to a more high-end contemporary shopper.

Right before the G-III agreement, trouble hit Sean by Sean Combs when the brand's vice president of design, Jenny La Fata, left for a job at Le Tigre. She denied any problems with the Sean Combs collection, but said that "Le Tigre is more my style" and that Sean by Sean Combs "was not a great fit anymore". A replacement for her had not yet been found.