Cerruti folds womenswear label

Cerruti will close its womenswear division, in a bold move to focus on its more successful men's business. The new comes following its purchase by the Li & Fung group in December, chief executive officer Florent Perrichon told WWD.

“We prefer not to spread ourselves too thin in a field that is highly competitive,” he explained, adding that creative director for women’s wear Richard Nicoll would present his third and final collection for the house in March, in a format that has yet to be determined.

A string of young French actors showed up to support the first men’s outing by designer duo Sachiko Okada and Aaron Sharif of label Blaak. “All the ingredients are there for a winning formula,” said Julian Cerruti, son of founder Nino Cerruti. Paolo Roversi was philosophical about the changes at the brand, which has gone through a series of owners in the decade since Nino Cerruti left. Roversi, who defined the look of the label in the Eighties, sought to recapture that spirit in the new spring-summer advertising campaign he shot for the brand. “I pretended Nino was still there,” he said.

Cerruti has been in trouble for quite some time, reported WWD.. Ever since Nino Cerruti’s retirement in 1996, the label has been changing head designers and owners quite frequently, with Narciso Rodriguez and Jean-Paul Knott being among them. Richard Nicoll is the current womenswear creative director for Cerruti, who had a contract for three seasons. Whether the final collection will be a catwalk or a more cost-effective presentation remains to be seen.

Image: Cerruti SS11