The tiff between the Bill Blass fashion label and its star designer Peter Som only came to an end after none other than Vogue Editor Anna Wintour stepped in, sources told The Post.
Som, who had resigned from Bill Blass mid-week in frustration after the brand’s cash-strapped owner canceled a September runway show in Bryant Park to save money, was coaxed back to work Thursday night with “a mixture of carrots and sticks,” a source said, with Wintour providing the stick.
Sources said Wintour, who was instrumental in bringing Som to Bill Blass last year, convinced him to stay for the sake of the label.
“He’s definitely back on board, and that will be crucial to the sale of Bill Blass,” a source said.
NexCen – a struggling licensing company that has been forced by a looming debt payment to put Bill Blass up for sale and quickly slash costs at the label – also has sweetened the deal for Som under a new retention agreement signed Thursday, sources said.
Once a sale of Bill Blass is completed, it will be up to the new owner to “cut their own deal with [Som] and romance him,” a source said.
Bill Blass is being pursued by several bidders, but sources said the new front-runner is Angelo Gordon, an investment firm that owns the Bill Blass direct-sales licensee.
Earlier this month, Angelo Gordon submitted a $24 million bid that was rejected, sources said. Now, the firm is said to be negotiating a purchase of Bill Blass for between $26 million and $28 million. That’s about half of the $54.6 million in cash and stock NexCen paid for Bill Blass in late 2006.