Kat Von D has announced she is stepping back from her namesake beauty brand — cutting all ties with the company, and selling her shares to Kendo.

David Suliteanu, CEO, Kendo, states, “I want to thank Kat for helping to change the beauty industry with us. The products we created together have stood the test of time…Kendo, along with our global retail partner, Sephora, look forward to the continued growth of KVD Vegan Beauty under Kendo’s leadership, ownership, and direction.”

He continues, “We are fully positioned to continue the brand’s growth and development in both product and marketing. We have developed a very strong product pipeline for 2020 and beyond. The same Kendo team that made history with KVD Vegan Beauty is ready to do it again.”

Update: Since the split with its popular founder, KVD Vegan Beauty isn’t showing any signs of slowing –– the brand launched two new products for Spring 2020.

Kat Von D’s Statement

Kat Von D, founder and artist explained in a statement:

“This past year has been one of great change for me. As many of you know, I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy, launched my vegan shoe line, and am now busy prepping to release my long-awaited album in the Spring, followed by an international tour! As much as I wish I could balance all of this, on top of continuing my makeup line, it has become clear to me that I just can’t do everything at the maximum capacity.”

“With that said, I’ve decided to step down as founder (and from all other capacities) of Kat Von D Beauty, and sell my shares of the brand, turning it all over to Kendo, my partners for the past 12 years.  This was not an easy decision, but after careful consideration, I decided I wanted the makeup line to continue to thrive and grow, and Kendo is primed to do just that.”

Photo above: a screenshot from Kat von D’s post on Instagram via @thekatvond

Kendo Brands operates independently, but is a part of LVMH Group.

The New KvD Vegan Beauty

The new brand name is shown below, on its newly updated Intagram account. The brand posted:

Today, our founder Kat Von D has parted ways with us, as she leaves to pursue other artistic endeavors (vegan shoe line and music)…

We are NOW renamed and re-branded KVD Vegan Beauty – and fully owned and operated by Kendo.

The same team that created our iconic and beloved products for the past 12 years (and built the empire with Kat) is ready to make history again. We still value self-expression, compassion and empowerment.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today, our founder Kat Von D has parted ways with us, as she leaves to pursue other artistic endeavors (vegan shoe line and music). We wish her the best of luck and thank her for 12 years of partnership! We are NOW renamed and re-branded KVD Vegan Beauty – and fully owned and operated by Kendo. The same team that created our iconic and beloved products for the past 12 years (and built the empire with Kat) is ready to make history again. We still value self-expression, compassion and empowerment. To read the full press release, go to our link in bio. Thank you for your support.

A post shared by KVD Vegan Beauty (@kvdveganbeauty) on Jan 16, 2020 at 9:10am PST