Reed Krakoff taps Harlan Bratcher as CEO

Luxury fashion house Reed Krakoff continues to bolster its management time with the appointment of Harlan Bratcher as chief executive officer. The current president and CEO of A/X Armani Exchange will take over tasks from Reed Krakoff himself, who will continue on as the label’s creative director. Bratcher is also is set to join the label’s board of directors and will be reporting directly to the board.

Krakoff and Bratcher will work as partners on the company board and together aim to develop a future strategy for the ongoing development of the brand, which aims to become the top American luxury label, whilst leading the brand in a day to day capacity. Bratcher has been credited for leading Armani’s diffusion label A/X Armani Exchange worldwide and developing the label. He first joined the label in 2001 and was appointed CEO in 2006. However, Giorgio Armani took full control back of A/X Armani last May, with plans to transform the brand into “the first global Italian fast-fashion brand targeting a young customer whose DNA is strongly Armani”.

The new appointment comes as Reed Krakoff enters an internal restructuring phase, with a number of members leaving the fashion house, according to WWD. Krakoff aims to place more focus on the label’s accessories range whilst expanding his pricing spectrum to accommodate more styles nestled in the mid-luxury category. The American fashion house has not chosen not to produce an autumn/winter 2015 ready-to-wear collection as part of its new scheme and will not be hosting a show during the upcoming New York Fashion Week. Instead the luxury label will host a party to mark the opening of its new Soho store.