It has been a rocky couple of weeks for Deciem. The brand – which encompasses sub-brands including The Ordinary, Niod and Hylamide – was shut down last week following a rambling announcement from founder Brandon Truaxe on Instagram several days ago. Truaxe’s increasingly incoherent and controversial posts have caused concerns for his wellbeing, culminating in the announcement which saw all Deciem stores and the website close, in which he cited “major criminal activity”. Truaxe has also fired various company staff this year, including co-CEO Nicola Kilner.
On October 10 Estée Lauder, which owns 28% of Deciem, confirmed with Vogue that it had begun legal proceedings against Truaxe. On October 12 an Ontario judge ruled that Truaxe be removed from the role of CEO, as well as barring him from hiring or firing employees or issuing statements on the company’s social media accounts, according to the Huffington Post Canada. The order also appointed Kilner as the sole interim CEO of the business. Truaxe was not present in court.
And the brand? The Deciem website is back online, and stores have reopened – surely a relief to the approximately 400 staff who work for the brand worldwide and whose futures were left uncertain after last week’s closure. Deciem’s Instagram account has, however, been shut down.
“Truaxe has exhibited extremely erratic, disturbing and offensive behavior in his role as president and chief executive officer over the course of this year,” Estée Lauder’s court filing said. “Unfortunately, Truaxe’s conduct has continued to become more erratic and concerning.”
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This article first appeared on Vogue.co.uk
