Luxist

It's the end of an era as American classic brand Bill Blass is set to fold. Blass died in 2002 but his brand has gone on with several designers, most recently, Peter Som, who left the company in October. The company will close its showroom at 550 Seventh Avenue and eliminate about 30 remaining jobs there. The NY Times reports that the company has been selling samples from Mr. Blass's collections and Manolo Blahnik shoes that were used in runway shows, at discounts of 90 percent. His archives will be headed to Indiana University in Bloomington. 31/12/08