British designer Giles Deacon to leave Ungaro

(AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL)

British fashion designer Giles Deacon, who took over as creative head of Emanuel Ungaro last year, is to leave the couture house, the French couture house said.

"Emanuel Ungaro SAS and Giles Deacon have mutually decided to end their collaboration," the fashion house said in a statement late Thursday, two weeks before the start of Paris Fashion Week.

In two seasons as chief designer at Ungaro, Deacon showcased a garden party look for Spring-Summer 2011 that was all flowers and lacework, followed by a rebellious, sexy Parisian style for his Autumn-Winter collection last March.

The fashion house did not immediately announce the name of Deacon's successor, but chief executive Jeffry M. Aronsson said "the creative process for executing our strategy is largely in place."

"Emanuel Ungaro embodies a very rich and distinct DNA which the company will deliver with a modern spirit," he said.

Ungaro has seen a merry-go-round of designers come and go since Emanuel Ungaro hung up his scissors in 2005, including a stint by Hollywood bad girl Lindsay Lohan in 2009 which the couturier slamed as a "disaster."