Matteo Marzotto

BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Eager to get back into fashion, Matteo Marzotto has bought Vionnet, the legendary French couture house, according to industry sources. Further details were unavailable at press time and Marzotto could not be reached for comment. But the 42-year-old had been looking to make a fashion deal for the last year, ever since he left Valentino, where he was chairman for six years. Vionnet, which still holds a spot in fashion’s history thanks to a body-clinging bias cut invented by Madeleine Vionnet in 1922, is a company whose turnaround has been tumultuous. Sophia Kokosalaki left in May 2007, just a year into her creative director post, and was replaced by Marc Audibet, who bid adieu a year ago, after only one season.