Bill Blass
WHO: William Ralph “Bill” Blass (1922-2002)
 
FAMOUSLY SAID: When in doubt, wear red.

ORIGINS: In 1970, Blass bought Maurice Rentner, the dress house where he had worked since 1959, and renamed it Bill Blass Ltd.
 
OWNERSHIP: In 1999, knowing he had cancer, Blass sold the company for $50 million to C.F.O. Michael Groveman and a licensee, Haresh T. Tharani. In 2007, NexCen Brands acquired it for $74 million in cash and stock.
 
MANAGEMENT: C.E.O. Groveman stayed on after the NexCen purchase and was given equity in the company. In 2007, Peter Som was appointed creative director for women’s wear and Michael Bastian creative director for men’s wear.
 
BAD MOVE: Signing licenses for everything from sheets and towels to chocolates.
 
PROGNOSIS: Som’s debut with Bill Blass is regarded as a safe bet. Som’s own style is, as one fashion critic said, “more Blass than Blass,” and he has the backing of a diversified public company, not a bunch of eager-to-sell private equity players. Groveman pays special attention to the men’s line. “Here we have a clean slate,” he says.

Ungaro
WHO: Emanuel (Maffeolit) Ungaro (1933- )
 
FAMOUSLY SAID: Pink is the institutional color for Ungaro.
 
ORIGINS: Founded his fashion house in 1965; presented his first ready-to-wear collection in 1968.

OWNERSHIP: In 1996 Ungaro sold a majority of his company to Ferragamo for an estimated $30 million. In 2001 the 67-year-old Ungaro stopped designing ready-to-wear and officially appointed his protégé, Giambattista Valli, his successor, but relations between the two became strained. Ungaro effectively retired in 2004, when he stopped doing haute couture. The following year, Ferragamo sold the company to Asim Abdullah, a venture capitalist from Silicon Valley.
 
MANAGEMENT: Mounir Moufarrige, best known for hiring Stella McCartney to design for Chloé, is C.E.O. and part owner. In December, Esteban Cortazar was appointed head designer.

BAD MOVE: Falling out with Valli over the direction of the brand.

PROGNOSIS: The house failed to sustain its appeal after Ungaro left. Most subsequent designers chose to focus on the heritage of bright, hard-to-wear prints rather than emulate Ungaro’s strong dressmaking skills. The company has entrusted its success to the relatively unknown, 24-year-old designer Cortazar after two other designers, Vincent Darre and Peter Dundas, failed to move the brand forward.