Olivier Theyskens leaving Nina Ricci?

Speculation builds that Peter Copping is set to replace Olivier Theyskens at Nina Ricci. By Fiona Raisbeck

After months of speculation Olivier Theyskens' tenure at Nina Ricci is looking ever shakier if reports in today's Women's Wear Daily are to be believed. The fashion newspaper is tipping Louis Vuitton designer Peter Copping, "to succeed Olivier Theyskens as the next designer at Nina Ricci". Despite being a critical hit in fashion circles, Olivier Theyskens' collections for the French label have not been as commercially successful. This is despite Theyskens regularly dressing Hollywood A-listers, such as Reese Witherspoon, who became an unofficial face of the Nina Ricci brand wearing a rich aubergine gown with train to the 1997 Oscars and a strapless yellow cocktail dress to the Golden Globes the same year.

Theyskens' contract with Nina Ricci is set to run until the end of October, but reports suggest that there are tensions between the Belgian designer and management at the company that could lead to a premature separation, according to Women's Wear Daily. It is also understood that British-born Copping, who worked under the guidance of creative director Marc Jacobs while at Louis Vuitton, has already handed in his resignation at the French fashion house, although neither party has officially confirmed this. Watch this space.

Picture: Olivier Theyskens takes a bow with Lily Donaldson after showing his Nina Ricci spring/summer 2009 collection in Paris.

ninaricci.com