SHEER AMBITION: The New York-based luxury lingerie and pleasure brand Kiki de Montparnasse has hired an experienced and digital-minded executive as its new global president.
Prior to ending a four-year run as president of the sportswear label Milly, she was part of the senior executive team at Kendall + Kylie, the label started by Kendall and Kylie Jenner. During a subsequent seven-year post at the buzzy sportswear company Zimmermann, Cahill introduced ready-to-wear beyond the Australian market with an initial focus on the U.S. and the U.K. During her tenure, Zimmermann took part in Paris Fashion Week for the first time and unveiled stores in Europe and the U.A.E.
Earlier on, Cahill logged some time at Red Carter’s Salon9 showroom, where she built distribution at Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Shopbop among other retailers. Cahill started her career as a sales and marketing account executive on Sweetface, Jennifer Lopez’s contemporary sportswear label, working under Andy Hilfiger, chief executive officer of the JLo brand.
Brian Cytrynbaum, owner and CEO of Kiki de Montparnasse, said in a statement that Cahill “knows what it takes to unlock a brand’s potential and drive significant growth globally.“
Last month, the lingerie specialist opened a pop-up shop at Harrods in London to appeal to Valentine’s Day shoppers. Founded in 2005, the company chose a name that is an homage to the model, painter and performer Kiki de Montparnasse, who was among the artistic avant-gardes in Montmartre and Montparnasse during the interwar period. She was a conduit for two generations of artists and modeled for Alexander Calder, André Kertész, Amedeo Modigliani, Chaïm Soutine, Foujita Tsuguharu, Maurice Utrillo and others. For some, she signified an emblem of bohemian Paris. During an eight-year relationship with Man Ray in the 1920s, de Montparnasse, who was born Alice Prin, inspired some of his most iconic work.