Vogue UK reports that Peter Som, head of womenswear at Bill Blass, has confirmed that he is stepping down from his position after only a year at the helm.

The designer said in a statement: "This was an extremely difficult decision for me . At this time; however, I have chosen to focus on my own namesake collection and the development of the Peter Som brand."

Many speculated that Som haboured resentment over cutbacks from Bill Blass' parent company NexCen Brands Inc, denying his spring/summer 2009 Bill Blass collection a catwalk show at New York Fashion Week. Publically, Som's has no hard feelings toward his former management.

Meanwhile, Prabal Gurung, Bill Blass' second in command designer, will be working with the existing team to produce the upcoming Fall 2009 collection while a permanent replacement can be found.