The New York Times has revealed that Jeffrey Monteiro is to take over the reins as creative director of Bill Blass. The news could not have come a moment sooner for the label who's future has been held in balance since Peter Som's unpredicted exit in October 2008, following in the footsteps of Lars Nilsson who held the role between 2001 to 2004.

The eponymous label was founded in 1970 by the late Mr Blass, who ran it quite successfully up until 1999, when he retired. He offered luxe and elegant sportswear and clothing, in a plethora of textures, so sumptuous that they had the ability to effortlessly take an outfit from day to night. With an extensive product line consisting of fragrances, home ware, handbags, shoes and couture pieces, Blass built an empire he would have expected and hoped, would have gone from strength to strength following his departure. This was not to be the case, and in November 2008 the fashion house filed for bankruptcy.

Now owned by Peacock International Holdings LLC (who bought the RTW and couture arms of the label), president of the Bill Blass Group Scott Patti hopes to turn things around with the help of Monteiro. And as most of the licenses which added to the label's troubles, having expired, Monteiro can focus his attention on reviving the RTW division. Eric Wilson has described his clothes as "nothing startling, but cute and casual little dresses with a modicum of pleats and pin tucks to give them a contemporary feel." As believers of the maxim 'less is more", and given that Monteiro's past stints include Mayle and Derek Lam and his simple, neat and elegant creations for his eponymous line, we think we're going to become fans of Monteiro in his new role pretty soon. We predict that this is the beginning of a new, more successful era in Bill Blass's history.