Couturier Jean Paul Gaultier will be designing a capsule collection for
Italian retail chain OVS that will hit retail in mid-November. The title of
the collection will simply be “Jean Paul Gaultier for OVS.”
The collection will comprise a total of 60 pieces, and it will be available
at a selection of stores as well as online.
OVS has been making a regular habit of working with big name figures from
the fashion and art world including Elio Fiorucci, Costume National, and
Matthew Williamson. Recently, the retail chain launched a capsule
collection dedicated to the cultural patrimony of Italy. These
collaborations are an effort to help OVS improve their image and gain
larger recognition on a global scale.
The collection takes Gaultier back to his ready-to-wear skills. In 2014,
the designer decided to halt production of his men’s and women’s
ready-to-wear lines to focus on couture and his successful fragrances.
Since fall 2015, the designer has been collaborating with Seven & I Group
for its own private label brand Sept Premieres.
In addition to his design projects on the side, Gaultier has also been busy
working on costuming a revue to be staged at Friedrichstadt-Palast to be
staged in the fall, where he will be creating 500 costumes in total. The
inspiration for his designs are taken from Berlin and cabaret, but features
some of his own signature motifs like sailor stripes and deconstructed
silhouettes.
OVS has a total of 900 stores internationally, and serves more than 150
million customers everyday. They have recently shifted their focus to
becoming more of a go-to fast-fashion destination, offering more
high-quality and stylish clothing than in the past.
In April, the retailer unveiled a limited-edition capsule collection called
“Arts of Italy,” to celebrate some of the country’s most notable cultural
masterpieces. The collection, offered for both men and women, made its
debut on the OVS e-commerce website and in select stores across Italy in
May. A portion of the revenues will finance the restoration of historic
works such as the mosaics of the Cathedral in Salerno and the cupola of
Rome’s Sant’Ivo alla Sapiena church, featured in the collection’s prints.
OVS has seen promising financial results under chief executive officer
Stefano Beraldo. For the fiscal year ended January 31, OVS revenues rose
7.5 percent to 1.32 billion euros, or 1.49 billion dollars at current
exchange. OVS also opened 189 stores in 2015 between franchises and
directly operated units, and also improved sales in existing locations.
OVS SpA is 52 percent controlled by Gruppo Coin SpA, while the remaining
shares are publicly listed. Coin is owned by private equity firm BC
partners.