Resurrection of Imitation of Christ

Remember Tara Subkoff, the actress-cum-designer who ignited an anti-fashion moment seven years ago by introducing a label called Imitation of Christ with a fashion show inside a funeral parlor? The one who printed a dress with the motto “Bring me the head of Tom Ford”? The one who hired Chloë Sevigny as a creative director?

Well, one could say that Ms. Subkoff has been tamed. She is now developing a collection for Bebe, the juniors chain, following up her collaboration with Easy Spirit shoes. And over the past couple of weeks, Ms. Subkoff cemented a deal to finally divorce herself from Imitation of Christ.

Josh Sparks, the former chief executive of the Australian label Sass & Bide and the partner of Ms. Subkoff in a new diffusion line called Imitation, has now bought the label from her, committing a total investment of about $2.5 million, he said. Mr. Sparks said that Kasia Bilinski, the lead designer for Imitation, will also make made-to-measure pieces under the label Imitation of Christ, but that the focus will be on the diffusion line. Ms. Subkoff will no longer be associated with the label.

It is no exaggeration to say that Ms. Subkoff had tested the patience of journalists and retailers with collections that were intriguingly reactionary, mocking the modern taste for luxury consumption (some were remade entirely from clothes bought at vintage stores) by failing to deliver the goods to stores on time, or ever. Most people thought Ms. Subkoff had simply given up ages ago. So why would he bother carrying on with the name?

“It was a brand that created a huge amount of energy without a real identity,” Mr. Sparks said. “Perversely, I think that is a strength in terms of opportunity for us. When you take a brand that has some huge legacy, you have to have a grand re-invention that can take years. Imitation of Christ is so loosely defined, it allows us to reinvent it on our own terms.”

In other news this morning, Cerruti, the once-chic Italian label that helped establish Narciso Rodriguez in his early days, announced that Jean-Paul Knott will take over as its artistic director. He’s replacing Nicolas Andreas Taralis, who actually hired Mr. Knott to design Cerruti’s diffusion line last March. You may remember Mr. Knott from his work for Krizia and Louis Féraud, but I think his signature line of draped jersey dresses, shown in the late 1990s, had a lot more flair.