Tom Van Dorpe exits The Kooples after one year

French fashion label The Kooples has announced that its artistic director Tom Van Dorpe is leaving the company to focus on personal projects.

“I’m very happy to have worked for this brand, and I would like to thank my teams,” Van Dorpe said in a release.

The Belgian-born fashion designer, who has previously worked for the likes of Fenty, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss and Max Mara Group, took on the creative role at The Kooples in May 2020 as the label looked to strengthen its positioning as the “most distinctive contemporary Maison”.

The Kooples said at the time its new brand direction would present a “much tighter” collection, and would see a return to marketing focused on aspirational couples with a “renewed emphasis on storytelling and community building”.

“Tom has offered The Kooples his ambitious and challenging vision of fashion,” said Marie Schott, who was appointed CEO of The Kooples back in February. “A new chapter is about to begin, in order to keep supporting the brand internationalization and expressing The Kooples’ timeless rock-and-roll spirit to the fullest.”

The final autumn/winter 2021 collection from Tom Van Dorpe will be available in the brand’s stores at the end of May. The label added that for its spring/summer 2022 collection it will “capitalize on its design studio and its various creative talents”.