What Went Wrong at Reed Krakoff?

Reed Krakoff has accomplished a lot in the past decade. He transformed Coach into a multibillion dollar company, won a CFDA Award for his namesake label and dressed the First Lady on multiple high-profile occasions. So the news earlier this month that Krakoff’s investors had grown skittish and that he would temporarily suspend operations begs the question: What went wrong? After all, if a designer of Krakoff’s stature, fame — and wealth — couldn’t make it, what hope is there for the little guy? There were signs that it was not business as usual for the brand following the release of February’s New York Fashion Week show schedule, where Krakoff’s name was nowhere to be found. Instead of staging a fashion show or presentation, Krakoff held a cocktail party feting the opening of his new Greene Street boutique. It was there, when prodded, that the designer owed his exemption from the formal schedule to a recent reassessment of how he conducts business. Rather than subscribing to the industry status quo, Krakoff told WWD that his brand would begin introducing designs on its own delivery schedule. There were explicitly no plans to ever stage a runway show again — a decision on which

Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Read More...