Washing the Gray Away

St. John Knits Inc. (Irvine, Calif.) has announced the departure from the company of creative director Kelly Gray and chief designer Marie Gray. The women are the daughter and wife, respectively, of Robert Gray, who founded the fashion apparel brand in 1962. He sold a controlling interest in the company in 1999 to equity investment firm Vestar Capital Partners (New York) and retired in 2002.

Vestar replaced Kelly Gray as ceo in 2004 with Richard Cohen, former ceo of the U.S. operations of Gruppo Ermenegildo Zegna (Milan), the European fashion brand. However, she continued to serve as the model of St. John’s print ads until replaced earlier this summer by Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen.

Cohen said both mother and daughter “will still have ties to the company.” Kelly Gray will work as a consultant and Marie Gray will remain on the board of directors.

Though the largest luxury supplier to Neiman Marcus, St. John Knits has suffered several seasons of diminishing profits and complaints about the company’s fusty image. “They had lost their way a little bit,” said Ron Frasch, the chief merchant of Saks Fifth Avenue, St. John’s other luxury outlet. “The line needs a little juice.” Cohen said the company was looking for a new head of design. “The company is evolving,” he said. “We have to build on this legacy. The Grays have built an incredible business and our responsibility is to take it to the next level on a global basis.”