Tomas Maier to close down

After more than twenty years of operation, Tomas Maier is no more. The luxury fashion label, founded in 1997 by the German designer of the same name, will cease operations by year-end.

French luxury conglomerate Kering, which acquired the women’s wear brand in 2013 via a jointly owned company of which it was a major shareholder, confirmed this week it “is ending its partnership with the label, which is ceasing operations.”

The label has between 20 and 30 employees, and “in the next few months, [Kering] will make every effort to protect their jobs, coordinating with the label’s local employee representatives,” read a press release.

Furthermore, writing appointments for the resort 2018 and men’s spring 2019 collections have been cancelled and it is understood the next collection probably will not be produced.

Earlier in the month, Tomas Maier resigned from his role as creative director of Bottega Veneta, which is also part of Kering.

With a resume that reads Guy Laroche, Sonia Rykiel and Hermès, Maier was pivotal in making Bottega Veneta’s sales go from €50 million to €1 billion in 17 years.

However, the brand lost momentum in recent years, and Kering changed its creative leadership. Daniel Lee, most recently director of ready-to-wear at Céline, succeeds Maier from 1 July.

Parent of luxury brands including Gucci, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent and Boucheron, Kering has been selling-off its stake in less profitable fashion brands. It recently disclosed it is in talks to sell its shares in Christopher Kane back to the namesake designer and bid adieu to sports brand Puma earlier in the year.