Franck Boclet Returns to Francesco Smalto as Creative Director

COMEBACK CLUB: Call it a trend. With Nathan Jenden returning to Diane von Furstenberg, French tailor Francesco Smalto on Tuesday confirmed that Franck Boclet is reprising his creative director role a decade after leaving the post. He succeeds Eric Bergère, who joined the house in June. Boclet, who was at Smalto from 1991 to 2007 before launching his namesake line, will present his first ready-to-wear collection in June, for the spring 2019 season, with the format to be confirmed. Lisa Astorino, who in July was brought in to oversee Smalto’s style and collections, a new position, parted ways with the house in October, according to a spokeswoman. Francesco Smalto, who died in April 2015, founded his men’s wear line in Paris in 1962. The designer’s signature styles included body-hugging silhouettes and cigarette-rolled shoulders. Smalto left the company, which he sold, in 2001. But prior to that he recruited and trained artistic director Youn Chong Bak, who recently exited the house. The tailor, which in 2012 was awarded the Living Heritage Company label by the French state, was tapped last year to design the official suiting for the French soccer team for the UEFA Euro tournament. The brand owns two stand-alone stores, in Paris and Bordeaux, and counts

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