BLASS and COUNTRY

The Bill Blass name has moved from the runway to fragrances and now has moved his way into the home. The owner of the bill Blass name has made a licensing agreement with Town and Country to produce table tops, bedding and linens. They have deiced to make his name into a full on brand and using Town and Country to help them do to that. They plain to explain to textiles and paints on their journey with Town and Country. Bill Blass was a great designer and I am sure they will be able to cross his talent with clothes into great home design. I am excited to see what it will look like.

Bill Blass Hits Home With License

NEW YORK — Bill Blass is headed home. The house, which recently added a fragrance to its designer options, is moving from runway to home at the end of this year. According to Robert D'Loren, president and chief executive officer of NexCen Brands Inc., which acquired Blass in December, a licensing deal was just inked with Town & Country as licensee.The launch with Town & Country will be focused on tabletop, linens and bedding, but the expansion into the home category will include other segments to make Blass into a full lifestyle brand.In addition, NexCen just signed a purchase agreement to acquire the Waverly home brand from F. Schumacher & Co. for $36.8 million in cash and the issuance of 50,000 warrants to be priced when the deal closes. "This is exciting for us. We'll be taking the Waverly design team and licensing professionals [as part of the purchase] and have them become our platform to build the Blass home business," D'Loren said.Waverly products are sold in nearly every distribution channel, and it would be the Waverly team that would expand Blass beyond the initial categories in the Town & Country licensing agreement. The expansion, while still a work in progress, could include soft home textiles for the kitchen and paints. The licensee is already working on preliminary prototypes for the licensed product.