Fashion, Stella Blum once wrote, is a social agreement; the result of a consensus of a large group of people.

The author and former curator of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City may have been dead for more than 20 years, but her words could not ring truer in these troubled times.

As the luxury-goods industry navigates its worst downturn in years, the world's biggest fashion houses, especially those that are still family run, are buckling under pressure. Faced with the prospect of having to choose between cutting costs and compromising on creativity, designers are going head-to-head with professional executives whom they've hired to boost their brand's growth.

But these are issues which Alain Quillet, the CEO of Nina Ricci, says he has been dealing with for almost 20 years now. And it's something that has not necessarily been brought on by the current rumblings of the global economy.

"Fashion companies deal with these kind of issues all the time," he says. "If an artistic director manages a company, bottom lines might be different from say, if someone from a financial background were to do the same job. But this issue is not related to the current crisis.

"It's all about balance," adds the executive, who spent 17 years with Christian Dior Couture owned by French luxury giant LVMH before joining Puig, the €1billion (Dh5bn) -a-year Spanish cosmetics, fragrance and fashion company last year.

"It's also about setting priorities, finding a common ground and being in touch with the brand's essence, from development of collections to execution every single season."

Quillet, who was recently in Dubai to oversee the progress of the first Nina Ricci boutique in the Middle East, which opened last month at the high-end DIFC Gate Village, says shared responsibility is the way to go.

"From sourcing raw materials to pricing and marketing, artistic directors, CEOs and company presidents all have responsibility to be involved in the decision making process."

Still, all's not well at some top fashion houses. Gianni Versace's chief executive, Giancarlo Di Risio, is rumoured to be leaving the Italian company soon. Di Rosio and lead designer Donatella Versace, it is claimed, have been at odds over how the company should deal with the global economic downturn. The Versace family, which still owns 100 per cent of the fashion house, has denied this, but confirmed last week it had approved a restructuring plan drawn up by an independent consulting firm.

The same week, Christian Lacroix, the fashion house which bears the name of the French couturier, filed for bankruptcy with a commercial court in Paris. The move, by owners Falic Group, based in the US, has been seen as a major loss to haute couture.

Running a high fashion business it seems, is becoming increasingly difficult without being part of a corporate group that is willing to invest and promote.

Nina Ricci is in good hands, assures Quillet. Parent company Puig, formerly Puig Beauty and Fashion Group, is a family run company founded in 1914, which owns the Carolina Herrera and Paco Rabanne fashion brands and manufactures fragrances and cosmetics for some of the biggest designer brands. The plan for the company, he says, is to take it back to its glory days. "I want to take it back to how it was 20 years ago. The biggest mistake now will be to start selling logos and to focus on bling. That will kill the brand's soul.

"You cannot compromise on quality. You can't mass produce because you have to respect the DNA of the company."

The house of Nina Ricci was founded by Italian-born Maria Ricci and her son Robert in Paris in 1932. Nicknamed Nina, Ricci's designs soon came to define femininity and romance and business boomed. Robert furthered the brand's appeal by introducing a fragrance line, which went on to define the brand internationally.

After Nina's passing away in 1970 and Robert's in 1988, the company's management changed hands a number of times until it was bought by Puig in 1998.

Quillet, who took over the reigns last year, says he will now focus on the fashion house's core strengths. "Haute-couture is not on the roadmap. We will continue our ready-to-wear, accessories and fragrances line," he says. "To develop your brand these days, it's all about accessories. Fragrances are also fundamental to a brand and increases its visibility worldwide ."

Peter Copping, who previously worked under Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton, was named in April as Nina Ricci's new artistic director replacing Olivier Theyskens, who left in March.

Although the first Middle Eastern boutique has only just opened, Nina Ricci has been present in the region for decades through franchise arrangements, says the executive. "It has always been a strong market for us and the new store is to reiterate that faith," he says.

But the luxury market is not looking good. Research company Bain & Company reported in April that the luxury sector faces between a 15 per cent and 20 per cent decline during the first two quarters in 2009, shrinking to €153 billion from its 2008 level of €170 billion, it said.

Quillet thinks it's time to redefine luxury, as it was originally intended to be. "There's been too much emphasis on fashion in a brand. And we've all been benchmarked by brands such as H&M and Zara.

"Luxury is stability and it's long-lasting. It's supposed to be forever."


Timeline

1932 Nina Ricci establishes a fashion house under her name

1946 Son Robert creates the brand's first fragrance Coeur Joie

1948 The brand's most popular fragrance, L'Air du Temps is born

1959 Nina Ricci decides to take a passive role, nominating young designer Jules-Francois Crahay

1970 Nina Ricci passes away

1988 Robert Ricci, who managed the company passes away

1998 Puig buys Nina Ricci

2009 First Middle East boutique opens at the DIFC's Gate Village

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