Michael ball rock and republic biography

Rock & Republic founder Michael Ball had an instinct for glitz and hype. He made sure that Hollywood starlets showed off his fashion jeans.

Rock and republic jeans

He put on music-thumping, champagne-flowing parties where beautiful models clung to his arms. He even planned to splash the Rock & Republic name on an airline one day.

But Ball’s ambitions to turn his premium denim brand into a global fashion house like Versace crashed last year when Rock & Republic filed for bankruptcy protection only eight years after its launch.

Now, in what might be the ultimate rebuke, his line appears headed to such mass marketers as JC Penney.

The story of Ball’s denouement is not particularly surprising to some of those who worked with him or near him.

“This is a company that didn’t have a financial structure,” said Ilse Metchek, executive director of California Fashion Association, “and when push comes to shove, didn’t have a fashion statement.

And those two things are really the things that did them