RICHARD TO JOIN BCBG IN DESIGN POST
Byline: Anne D’Innocenzio
NEW YORK — Designer Kenneth Richard, who had his own label for seven years, will join contemporary sportswear powerhouse BCBG by Max Azria as design coordinator, a new post. Richard, who is moving from New York to Los Angeles on Thursday, starts his new job June 15.
Richard closed his store on Wooster Street in SoHo in early April, and shut down his wholesale business in January. Wholesale volume had fluctuated from $350,000 to $1 million, and the collection, known for its sexy, tailored looks, sold to such stores as Barneys New York and Charivari.
Richard said at first he was planning to take a break before signing on with an Italian manufacturer to oversee the manufacturing of his line, but then decided to explore other options. The job with BCBG was “an opportunity that was too exciting to pass up,” he said.
“I started to take a look at the future of fashion, and realized that it was in a different price point,” said Richard, who was offered the BCBG job on Friday. “BCBG is ideally what I have been looking for. It has a global vision and a strong relationship with retail stores. I think that the Max Azrias are the wave of the future. They are the ones addressing America.”