DALLAS, Jul 20, 2006/ --- The announcement came without warning or any hint to the fashion set who attended the just finished Menswear Spring 2007 and Haute Couture Fall 2006 seasons. Procter & Gamble Co., owner of Rochas is discontinuing the French house’s ready-to-wear line.

P&G, which acquired Rochas when it bought controlling interest in Wella AG in 2003, will continue the very lucrative fragrance business of Rochas. The closing of Rochas’ fashion business will occur in late October according to the statement released by P&G.

Founded by Frenchman Marcel Rochas, the House of Rochas hit the Paris fashion scene by storm in 1924 when it was established. With very feminine silhouettes that emphasized the shoulders, the House of Rochas became the epitome of femininity during the latter half of the 1920s, all the way to the 1930s.

With the outbreak of World War II, Rochas had to shutter its doors, and opened once again when peace came. But Marcel Rochas changed the direction of the maison. Instead of focusing on haute couture, he put his energy in his already very lucrative boutique business, which had been selling ready-to-wear since the 1930s, and in developing perfumes, launching ‘Femme’ in 1945.

Considered a visionary, Marcel Rochas was one of the first to see the rise of the ready-to-wear market and predicted that haute couture will take a backseat to it. He was one of the first fashion designers who were able to harness the synergy between creativity and commercial viability.

When he died in 1955, he had not reached yet the total amalgamation of design and marketing, which will be the lifeblood of the fashion industry several decades hence. Yet, no one can deny the fact that Rochas was a pioneer and a trailblazer for the industry.

After his death, fragrances were the only ones that remained of Rochas, until Wella acquired the company in 1990 and hired Dublin designer Peter O’Brien to revive the brand. O’Brien will design the Rochas line for 12 years.

When the company changed hands in 2003, Belgian designer Olivier Theyskens was hired as Creative Director who was considered one of Paris’ rising stars that time.

Theyskens, 29, more than lived up to expectations, winning the International Designer Award last June from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

With the closing of the Rochas’ fashion business, at least 30 workers in Paris, including Theyskens will be out of job. But, with Theyskens’ caliber as a designer, he has many options open to him.

Theyskens already had a fledging eponymous line before he joined Rochas. He can go back to it. Or, if the rumor mill turns out to be true, he may be bound for New York working for Oscar De La Renta. But, that is only a rumor.

Nevertheless, it is a sad day in fashion when Rochas shutters its doors in late October.