PARIS — SIL Group, the French innerwear producer and distributor that counted the Sonia Rykiel, Christian Lacroix, Cacharel, John Galliano and Kenzo brands among its stable of licenses, is in court-imposed liquidation, a company spokesman confirmed.
The firm, acquired by the French underwear firm Eminence in 2003, had positioned itself as an incubator for designer brands.
The loss last fall of a major client that reportedly accounted for 10 percent of the company’s turnover is said to have led to its collapse, according to a source. SIL declined to comment Wednesday.
As a result of the liquidation, a fair share of designer panties could be missing from the market this spring.
A Sonia Rykiel spokesman, while declining to comment on whether it was seeking a new licensing partner, confirmed the house would not deliver a spring lingerie line. A spokeswoman for Galliano said the company is working on finding a solution to deliver its collection, possibly by producing in-house.
Kenzo, meanwhile, which last month signed a five-year licensing pact with Italy’s Gruppo Arcte for its lingerie line, having parted ways with SIL at the end of its contract, said the company is in talks with its new partner to produce the spring collection.
Based in Vanves in the Paris suburbs, SIL Group also operated a production unit in Nevers in Burgundy, employing 129 people across the two sites.