Fforme Creative Director Paul Helbers Out, New Designer Announced

Fforme, one of the most exciting new names to emerge from New York Fashion Week since the luxury label’s February 2022 debut, is in transition.

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Dutch creative director Paul Helbers, who brought menswear design experience from The Row and Louis Vuitton to the womenswear brand, achieving an everyday elegance that purred with ease in his stellar fall 2024 collection , has departed.

“We’re growing, it’s character-building,” Helbers said of his process before the last runway show in February, giving no hint he’d be leaving. “I made every piece in Paris sculpted on the body using couture fabrics in a very casual way and more casual fabrics and making them more couture.”

Cofounders Nina Khosla, a product designer for tech start-ups and the principal investor, and Laura Vazquez, a former executive vice president of Jil Sander Navy and Perry Ellis, launched Fforme as a direct-to-consumer brand in 2022. The emphasis was on architectural shapes for intellectual working women, and a quiet luxury, less-is-more sensibility. Vazquez left the brand in April 2023.

Helbers’ work won over fashion insiders from influencer Leandra Medine to First Lady Jill Biden’s stylist Bailey Moon, and the collection landed at Mytheresa, Net-a-porter and Nordstrom among other retailers, where prices range from $590 for a silk jersey tank to $5,000 for a cashmere coat.

The brand would not comment on the reason for Helbers’ departure.

In mid-July, Frances Howie assumed the role of creative director for the label, and she will present her debut runway collection for fall 2025 at New York Fashion Week in February.

In her new role, Howie will lead Fforme’s New York-based design team, reporting to Khosla and chief executive officer Joey Laurenti, who consulted for Puppets and Puppets, was previously co-founder and CEO of Sies Marjan, and founded the Goods and Services showroom, which he sold in 2019 to Tomorrow Ltd.

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Howie was born in New Zealand and graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2006. She began her career as design assistant to Alber Elbaz at Lanvin before joining Stella McCartney in 2009, eventually becoming design director until she left in August 2021.

“We are delighted that Frances is joining Fforme at the creative helm. Her point of view as a female creative director and strong womenswear background will lead us in the dynamic next chapter of our business,” Laurenti said in a statement.

“I am thrilled to take on the role of creative director of Fforme and am so looking forward to bringing my knowledge and vision to this beautiful American brand,” Howie said.

The spring 2025 collection will not be formally presented but will be produced.

Fforme has had momentum as a rare New York Fashion Week breakout universally lauded by critics and retailers.

In its first 12 days of business alone, it saw a $25,000 sales day, as reported by WWD.

Despite the heavy cash flow needed to start a new brand, Khosla said in 2022 she was in it for the long haul: “We are committed to growing slowly and that is what makes it really challenging as an investment. It’s a slow growth industry that’s about longevity and having customers that are with you. At this luxury price point it’s all about that slow growth. It’s the only way to make it sustainable.”

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