Inside the World Of François-Henri Pinault and P.P.R.

Portfolio magazine has an interview article with François-Henri Pinault, C.E.O. of PPR, which owns Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta and most recently Puma, among other brands.

Pinault is in the midst of restructuring the company to focus on the brands rather than star power designers thereby, “challenging the fashion industry’s most fundamental beliefs.” This can most recently be seen throught the very public dismissal of Tom Ford as head designer of Gucci in 2004.

François-Henri Pinault is trying to build the cache of the luxury brands so that they speak for themselves. He wants the brands to be immune from the whims of famous designers. Whether the strategy works remains to be fully seen. But as seen in the article Gucci is doing well 3 years after the ouster of Tom Ford.

Gucci Unzipped [Portfolio Magazine]