Daily Front Row

2010 March 8

Aquascutum Designers Heading to Bally

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Michael Herz and Graeme Fidler
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(PARIS) It has only been a week since Brian Atwood presented his final collection for Bally, but the brand is already rumored to have secured a new creative director. Two, actually. Former Aquascutum designers Michael Herz and Graeme Fidler are expected to assume the top creative spots at the Swiss luxury house, The Daily has learned. A representative for Bally did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Herz and Fidler resigned from Aquascutum suddenly last Thursday, citing a focus on new projects. Belinda Earl, the brand's chief executive called the split "amicable." The duo are finishing out a period of notice at Aquascutum before they move on to their new project, which is slated to launch. Herz, who designed the women's collection, worked at Aquascutum since 2000; Fidler, who was responsible for the menswear, joined in 2001.

Fidler studied fashion design at Northumbria University. His first position was with Daks and Nigel Cabourn; he was soon recruited to develop Ralph Lauren's RLX collection, which was based in New York. Herz graduated from the Royal College of Art, London. For three seasons, he worked for Marc Jacobs during his tenure at Iceberg before being recruited by Alber Elbaz to serve as head of design at Guy Laroche.

According to sources, the decision to hire Herz and Fidler stemmed from Bally management's desire to focus increasingly on ready-to-wear. (Atwood designed a ready-to-wear collection for the house, but allegedly, it did not sell nearly as well as the accessories.) The duo are expected to present their first collection for Bally next season in Milan.
ASHLEY BAKER