Peter SomPhoto: Patrick McMullan
Peter Som is still on at Bill Blass, but things are tense because the house can’t afford him. See, Som has grand ideas for his Blass clothing collection, but since Blass is owned by NexCen, which you’ve probably heard is broke, they can’t financially support Som’s visions. Not only that, last week Blass canceled the spring 2009 runway show in favor of an editor presentation, owing to “restructuring.” They’re so broke, in fact, that they haven’t paid Som in months, according to WWD.
Nonetheless, it sounds like Som plans to stick out this rough patch. Last week it was reported Som’s contract bound him to the label to present the spring 2009 collection. Today WWD reports Som can get out of his contract at any time, but sources close to the situation say Som would stay on at the label if NexCen can sell it to someone who can afford Som and his visions.
The New York Post reports that Anna Wintour convinced Som to stay on “for the sake of the label” after he resigned last week. NexCen, which has been trying to sell Blass for some time and needs Som onboard to do it, is reportedly close to a deal. Then again, a couple of weeks ago NexCen said it planned to hold on to Blass until the end of the year because it wasn’t getting high enough bids. So who knows if a deal really is on the horizon?
Som, NexCen Working to Resolve Issues [WWD]
WINTOUR ENDS SOM’S SPAT WITH BILL BLASS [NYP]
