Helene Arnault

>> Rumors have Olivier Theyskens waiting to take over at Lanvin in 2012, but how about some rumors on top of rumors? Hint reports: "Remember years ago when Theyskens, at only 25, was interviewing at Givenchy and asked for a salary twice that of [Alexander] McQueen's when he started? (They refused.) Well, he's either a skilled negotiator or self-saboteur. We hear that in the last several years he's turned down the job at both Valentino — despite a fortune proposed by Marzotto Group — and Dior. And get this: it seems he turned down Dior not once, but twice. Why? Because, according to conventional wisdom, there is no life after Dior. Many see it as an ailing house and view John Galliano as a protege of Helene Arnault, wife of LVMH (and Dior) owner Bernard Arnault." [Hint]

>> Bernard Arnault, Francois Pinault Are Playing Nice, Still Rich —With the lapse of almost a decade since the fight over Gucci, LVMH's Bernard Arnault and PPR's Francois Pinault are experiencing a detente, symbolized by their willingness to appear on the cover of French business magazine Challenges together this week.  The accompanying story credits Arnault's wife, Helene, with the warming of feelings when she embraced Pinault's wife Maryvonne at an event last November.  Since, the Arnaults invited the Pinaults to dinner on May 26. The magazine also tabulates France's largest fortunes, with Arnault (14.58 billion euros) in second, the Hermes family (7.68bn euros) in fourth, Pinault (4.95bn euros) in sixth, and Alain Wertheimer and family, owner of Chanel, (3.5bn euros) in tenth. [WWD]