Scaasi to Relauch in Fall 2007
Fab '50s Designer to First Ladies Tries His Hand at Success Today.
Sign of the times, an old-school name, Scaasi (familiar to fashionistas with a nose for vintage), uses a modern platform to launch his new line: Martha Stewart's TV show.
What’s in a name?
Arnold Isaacs is much as it sounds: the humble son of a Montreal furrier. However, a simple reversal of the letters of the last name – along with ditching the pesky first name – resulted in the much more exotic Scaasi (!), fabulous fashion designer to First Ladies like Mamie Eisenhower, Jackie Kennedy, and Laura Bush. Famous as a glamour-puss couturier to older school divas like Elizabeth Taylor & Barbra Streisand (in particular, her iconic see-through pantsuit ensemble at the Oscars in 1969), Scaasi will be back in the game this fall with a new ready-to-wear line of fabulousness.
Taking advantage of his longtime friendship with Martha Stewart, he will appear on her television show with its 2 million-strong viewership, show-offing looks from his new line, including a fuschia gown with a glam bias cut, and a sparkly strapless cocktail frock in red. (In the can-do spirit of the show, he will also be demonstrating how to use a sewing machine to embroider a t-shirt.) So why relaunch his fashion line now? "Women were stopping me in airports and asking me at dinner parties," Scaasi recently told WWD. “My archives have 600 pieces — it's all there. Everything just fell into place.”
Originally a student at the Cotnoir-Capponi School of Design, affiliated with the Paris Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne, Scaasi first apprenticed with the House of Paquin and later spent two years working for American designer Charles James – honing his skills both with color and dealing with temperamental A-list clients. After his eye-catching crimson coat landed the coveted December cover of Vogue, his clothes appeared in a General Motors Body by Fisher ad campaign, and he was able to launch a line of ready-to-wear.
Renewed recent interest in a designer like Scaasi is part of an ongoing trend jumpstarted primarily by Gucci’s breathtaking turnaround in the early 90s after designer Tom Ford was promoted to the position of Chief Creative. Other sleepy fashion houses like Vionnet, Lanvin, Balenciaga & Christian Dior have similarly been brought back to life with an infusion of fresh design talent and money. Luxury investment banker Karine Ohana of Ohana & Co., a Paris-based mergers & acquisitions firm, has dubbed these labels Sleeping Beauties, brands with a respectable legacy that have come to lack vitality, and are easily brought back to life with a “kiss”: money, talent & PR. With the booming market for high-quality vintage fashion showing no signs of abating, collectors & trendsetters are already familiar with the Scaasi label and are spreading the word, making him well positioned to re-enter today’s fashion vocabulary.
