Natalie Ratabesi exits role as creative director of Philosophy

British designer Natalie Ratabesi has left her role as creative director of Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti, 20 months after she was appointed. The decision for the British designer to leave the company was mutual, according to a press release sent out by parent company Aeffe

SpA: “The decision was a mutual agreement between the designer and the heads of Aeffe. They have now given the creative direction of the brand to the internal in-house design team.”

Ratabesi

exit from Philosophy was a "mutual agreement"

The brand's spring 2015 collection is set to be designed by the fashion company's in house design team and will be shown during Milan's Fashion week in September, instead of New York where Philosophy has shown its collection over the past few years. “After the departure of our creative director, the label will return to Milano Moda Donna and leave the runways of New York.”

Ratabesi's exit from the company comes after managing directors and chief financial officer Marcello Tassinari made a number of comments concerning Philosophy weak performance during a conference call discussing its first quarter results with analysts last month.

He highlighted the growth of Aeffe other labels, such as Alberta Ferretti and Moschino, but added that Philosophy results were “negative” in comparison to the other brands performance. “We hired Natalie Ratabesi to raise the positioning of the brand and to have its own autonomy. There are changes taking place,” he commented at the time.

A graduate from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Ratabesi was taken by designer Alberta Ferretti late 2012, who wished to turn her focus on her creating main eponymous label. Prior to joining Philosophy, Ratabesi was senior creative director at Polo Ralph Lauren.

She fined tuned her designing skills whilst working for a a number of fashion companies, including Christian Dior, John Galliano, Oscar de la Renta, Valentino and Gucci. It remains unclear what her next move will be.

Photo 1: Natalie Ratabesi
Photo 2: Philosophy Autumn/Winter 2014 collection