Bally & Rhuigi Villaseñor are over. The RHUDE founder was appointed creative director of the Swiss luxury house just over a year ago in January 2022 but, as of May 2023, the pair have amicably separated.
“My experience at Bally has been an incredible honor,” Villaseñor said in a statement provided to Highsnobiety. “I wish the brand nothing but the best in all its future endeavors and look forward to enjoying its next creative chapter.”
“I would like to thank Rhuigi for all his creative contributions during his time at Bally," CEO Nicolas Girotto continued. "His passion, energy, and creativity helped catapult Bally back into the spotlight, further rejuvenating the brand’s 170-year legacy through a modern, glamorous lens.”
Rhuigi Villaseñor's first Bally collection, Spring/Summer 2023, debuted in September 2022. It was an interesting time in fashion, when fresh-faced creative directors like Villaseñor, Bottega Veneta's Mathieu Blazy, and Ferragamo's Maxmilian Davis were revamping storied fashion houses in their own image.
No specific reason was given for his departure nor has a successor been announced.
Villaseñor's Instagram account retained the line "CD of BALLY" on May 16, when the news of his departure broke, but he eventually broke silence with a series of vague tweets about creative control and business, some tantalizing insight into the reason behind his breakup with Bally.
Akin to how Gucci and Louis Vuitton operated in 2022 without their own creative directors, Bally's in-house design team will lead its ready-to-wear and their Spring/Summer 2024 collection will be revealed during Milan Fashion Week in September 2023.
Rhuigi, meanwhile, will continue to oversee RHUDE, the luxe-streetwear label he founded in 2015. Imminently popular with musicians, basketball players and the Los Angeles fashion set, RHUDE has evolved from a popular line of slim-cut drawstring track pants, dubbed "traxedos" (track + tuxedo), into a full collection of ready-to-wear for men and women, complete with footwear and accessories.
High-profile collaborations with the likes of McLaren and PUMA have followed as part of RHUDE's growth.
Presumably, Bally expected Villaseñor to bring that young, eager-to-spend consumer from his label over to the 172-year-old Swiss brand and it seems like he did.
AP reported that Bally's revenue are up 20% year-over-year (parent company JAB Holding Company didn't disclose specifics), so it's unlikely that money was the root of the problem here.
I'm reminded of Brioni's appointment of Justin O'Shea, which lasted a mere six months. O'Shea, a fashion director at Mytheresa.com, attempted to swiftly reconfigure staid suitmaker Brioni as a rock 'n roll tailor, casting Metallica in his inaugural campaign and dressing models at his debut fashion show in fingerless crocodile leather gloves.
The reason for O'Shea's departure was never clarified but scuttlebutt at the time posited that his edgier Brioni risked alienating the nearly 70-year-old Italian company's traditional-leaning clientele.
In the end, Brioni presumably figured it was better to play to the crowd it knew rather than try to invite in new customers.
I obviously can't say whether or not Bally executives thought the same after Rhuigi Villaseñor sent metallic gold bodysuits and cowboy hats down the runway but one can wonder.
