Good first (time), but a lot The second is still better: for some fashion brands, the path was exactly like that. A succession of successes, but also of closures – or rather, not exactly definitive breaks – which led to an even more solid and structured relaunch on the market. In fact, we soon think that the story of the great luxury maison – first of all, Chanel – was all roses and flowers. Coco was the first to recognize that, during the World War II, his fashion house would have made it better to close. And so it was.
But Mademoiselle Gabrielle was not the only stylist who found himself saying “stop” when it was necessary to do it. Here are 9 fashion brands, all famous, who have closed and reopened … to meet a new success.
1. Ferragamo: closed in 1933, reopened in 1938
The history of the Italian fashion house, directed from 2022 by the English stylist Maximilian Davis, was all uphill. In 1923 Salvatore Ferragamo moved his business to Hollywood and opened his first shop there, finding himself in a short time to create the most wonderful shoes for the great cinema divers. Including the need to report production in Italy, in 1927 he founded his homonymous brand in Florence. However, In 1933, Ferragamo was forced to declare bankruptcy: the non -optimal management by the American members, in conjunction with the collapse of Wall Street of 1929, had brought the company to its knees. Remained in Florence, The definitive restart took place in 1938when the stylist-entrepreneur purchased the historic Palazzo Spini Ferroni, who is still the seat of the Maison today.
2. Chanel: closed in 1939, reopened in 1954
Mademoiselle Gabrielle founded Chanel in Paris in 1910. In 1939, at the outbreak of World War II, little was able to do coco for the four thousand human resources employed in his company. The stylist was forced to close the maison, a decision from which fifteen years of absence of his haute couture followed. Although the name of the brand had continued to circulate through the sale of perfumes and accessories, it was 1954 who marked the real great reopening of the fashion house: nine years had passed since the end of the war. And the (second) first parade was held in February of that year.
3. Balenciaga: closed in 1968, reopened in 1986
1968: Cristóbal Balenciaga presents his latest collection, closes the homonymous fashion house founded in 1917 and retires to private life in Spain, where he will miss the age of seventy -seven years. For the official reopening it will be necessary to wait for 1986, the year in which Jacques Bogart Sa acquired the rights to launch the brand’s prêt-à -porter line. In 2001 the Balenciaga maison was detected by the Kering group, a luxury giant whose portfolio is still part of today.
Even Coco Chanel recognized the highest authority of the time in Cristóbal: “The only real couturier, after all, was him, the others are only fashion designers”. We retrace the history of the Spanish stylist who erected the foundations of modern couture
4. Schiaparelli: closed in 1954, reopened in 2012
Surprisingly, the Schiaparelli maison remained open during the II World War. It was the austerity of the post -war period, however, that forced the founder Elsa to the decision to close in 1954. He followed the publication of Shocking Lifethe autobiography of the designer (who would then be missing in 1973). Reported in 2007 by Diego Della Valle, the fashion house was officially relaunched in 2012 in its headquarters at the Hôtel de Fontpertuis at number 21 of Place Vendôme.
5. Mugler: closed in 2002, reopened in 2010
It was 2002 when Thierry Mugler decided to close the brand founded in 1974. The reason, as explained to the press, was mainly relegated to the frenetic rhythms of the fashion system. However, the stylist did not move away from this world, on the contrary, he simply decided to continue to devote himself to perfumes and to move his focus on the artistic direction (for Comédie-Française, Cirque du Soleil and the 2009 tour of Beyoncé). In 2010 he decided to relaunch the fashion brand with the creative direction of Nicola Formichetti.
6. Vionnet: closed in 1939, reopened in 2006
It was 1912 when, at number 222 of Rue de Rivoli in Paris, Madeleine Vionnet opened his fashion house with a third of the investment (for the remaining part he was supported by the owner of the Parisian Department Store Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville) . It was the war conflicts that twice stopped the activity of the Maison: with the I World War I, Vionnet remained closed from 1914 to 1919; With World War II, Madeleine Vionnet presented his latest collection in 1939. Madeleine Vionnet died in 1975, just before the entrepreneur Arnaud de Lummen acquired the brand in 1988. The return to the scene, however, took place only in 2006.
7. Patou: closed in 1987, reopened in 2018
Born in Paris in 1887, Jean Patou founded his fashion house in 1914: he was only twenty -three years old. The outbreak of the I world war called him on the front, but on his return Jean Patou reopened the maison together with his sister Madeline. While his brand reached success, the stylist was missing in 1936 at the age of forty -eight. Numerous creative directors followed: Marc Bohan, Karl Lagerfeld, Michel Goma, Angelo Tarlazzi, Christian Lacroix. Even Jean Paul Gaultier was the apprentice of the maison. The production of the Haute Couture collections ceased in 1987. In 2018, the fashion brand was detected by the luxury LVMH group, which relaunched it with the creative direction of Guillaume Henry.
8. Paco Rabanne: closed in 2006, reopened in 2010
The brand born in 1966 had already started to suffer in the nineties, when in 2006 the definitive decision was made: Paco Rabanne would have closed. And so it was in the year that should have, among other things, be celebrated as that of the fortieth anniversary. However, the revival came shortly after, when in 2010 the relaunch of the fashion brand was announced which had achieved the peak of success also with the famous costumes of the films Barbarella And Royale casino during the sixties.
9. Rochas: closed in 2006, reopened in 2009
Founded by Marcel Rochas in 1925, the maison became famous in the 1930s also for the fragrance Femme. With the death of the founder, it was acquired by Procter & Gamble, but the strategies were not enough to keep the attention towards the brand alive, which in 2006 was closed. Three years later, the return to the scene with a new revival. Since 2023 the fashion house has been directed by the Italian stylist Alessandro Vigilante.
Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
