An OLdie, BuT stiLL a gOOdie...

It's always exciting, and fascinating, when a fashion label gets taken over--especially when it's eponymous. What happens when you lose the rights to your own name??? This is a question that many of the Greats--including Valentino and Yves St. Laurent--have faced in recent times.


What happens? Usually chaos and unhappiness. Both the aforementioned designers had spats with their successors and financiers. The same happened with today's featured designer: Hervé Léger.

























Léger is a designer that undoubtedly introduced a signature fashion look during his hey-day in the 1990s. The "Bandage dress" (robe de bandes) became the French couturier's signature look. Max Azria bought the company in 1998, but recently the look is making a comeback in a HUGE way. Who hasn't seen celebrity after celebrity poured into one of these amazing dresses? What's even more interesting is that, after a major tiff ended the Léger-Azria partnership only 6 months after the label was bought--Azria is reinventing the look. In a BIG way.

























These pictures are from last season's Resort and Spring 2009 collection, which were HOT, HOT, HOT. My personal favorite: the gold dress featured in the first paragraph. THIS season (Fall), two models were sacrificed to the fashion gods (they tripped. oops!), and Azria was rewarded with a "rousing standing ovation" (FWD). Hotness and totally unexpected from the brand. The critics' fave?















What now for (the REAL) Hervé Léger? Now that he has lost the rights to his name, he is designing and selling in Paris under Hervé L. Leroux...




Hervé Léger: http://www.bcbg.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=3370524&cp=2584262&clickid=top_nav_herve