NEW YORK, Nov 6, 2001/ FW/ --- Queen Elizabeth's right-hand fashion man is calling it quits. Last May, 93-year-old Sir Hardy Amies sold his Savile Row business to Luxury Brands Group, and now he's stepping down altogether.

Yesterday the group announced that Jacques Azagury will be the house's new head of couture.

Azagury was appointed by Luxury Brands Group's new chief executive, David Duncan Smith, brother of the new Conservative party leader, Iain Duncan Smith. This former head of UK operations at both Louis Vuitton and Prada has been charged with a daunting task: make LBG a British counterpart to the likes of luxury conglomerates Gucci and LVMH.

The group also recently acquired Norman Hartnell, another classic British house that has dressed the queen.

Duncan Smith is not wasting any time in assembling a top-notch team for Hardy Amies. A 45-year-old St. Martins grad with 20 years of experience, Azagury is no stranger to dressing royals. Princess Diana used to wear his creations.

The Moroccan-born designer will continue to produce his own label, and the new Hardy Amies couture collection will be unveiled in January. A spokeswoman insists that Amies will still be consulted on all business decisions, and Duncan Smith told the Sunday Times that Sir Hardy is "very excited" about the news.

He praised Azagury as "an incredible couturier, famed for his structured designs" who "will give the label immediate credibility."

Duncan Smith has also commissioned the house's first ready-to-wear line. Designer Huguette Hubard will create the new collection, which will debut at London Fashion Week in February. Hubbard will report to Paolo Gabrielli, a Bally vet who is now LBG's creative director.

So far these moves appear to mirror the feat that John Galliano has pulled off at Dior, revitalizing a stodgy label by assembling an innovative young design team.

If Hardy Amies isn't sure where to start, international fashion pundit Puff Daddy did offer some priceless fashion tips to the Queen in a recent interview: She should "stick to muted shades and combine gray, black and earth tones," he says. Those pastel shades she wears don't suit her at all."