Fashion house of the late French designer, Sonia Rykiel, is ordered to shut after four months of negotiations, Paris commercial court has decided. The struggling fashion house couldn’t find a new buyer, even tho several investors expressed interest in taking the house on.
The brand will close six stores in France and Monaco, its intellectual property and archives will be sold and company’s 131 employees will lose their jobs.
The designer, who opened her first boutique in 1968, was an icon of the revolutionary spirit of her time. She was recognized for her casual-chic designs and her famous poor boy jumpers, worn by Audrey Hepburn.
The designer died in 2016 aged 86 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. Last year, the city of Paris named a street after Sonia Rykiel, Marking the 50 years of the brand.