fashionologie

Marc Jacobs-Dior Talks Halt; Alexander Wang, Raf Simons, and Jason Wu Now Being Considered

fashionologie — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 07:24:26 PST

>> Marc Jacobs, long the favorite to take over at Dior, may not be headed to the house after all. Talks between the two parties have once again halted, WWD reports, and Dior has stepped up both the pace and depth of negotiations with other designers - Alexander Wang, Raf Simons, and Jason Wu, in particular. Riccardo Tisci is also still in the mix, but given his strong momentum at Givenchy, is viewed as unlikely to be appointed.

Although last month, talks between Jacobs and Dior were said to be progressing - Bernard Arnault reportedly flew into Manhattan to meet with Jacobs - and there was no explosive breakdown, Arnault and Dior recently decided to move onto another scenario - in part because Jacobs requested that he take his Vuitton design team to Dior, which would leave Vuitton without creative support, and Phoebe Philo, the preferred candidate to take over at Vuitton, reportedly prefers to continue at Celine.

The Dior search is said to be focused on finding a designer - young or mature - with an affinity and respect for the brand's glamorous DNA, and a vision for taking it forward, post-Galliano. However, one source told WWD: “It is not impossible that [Arnault] resumes his talks with Marc.”

Talks Between Marc Jacobs and Christian Dior Said Proving Difficult

fashionologie — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:36:16 PDT

>> Last month, Marc Jacobs was said to be frontrunner for the currently-vacant Christian Dior creative directorship. That still seems to be the case, according to WWD sources, but there have been a few sticking points.

One such hitch in the talks? It's believed that Jacobs and his long-time business partner Robert Duffy are seeking a substantial increase on their current salary and benefit packages from LVMH, which already place them among the highest-paid designers and fashion executives in the world.

Dior is a more demanding job than Jacobs's current position at Louis Vuitton, with two couture collections in addition to two ready-to-wear shows and pre-collections. And Jacobs would be required to spend more time in Paris working with the atelier, given the intense craftsmanship involved with forming a couture collection.

If Jacobs does make the move to Dior, Phoebe Philo has been reported to be first in line to succeed him at Louis Vuitton. But according to WWD's sources, as of last week, she had yet to commit to the project or enter negotiations.

Report - Marc Jacobs Could Be Headed to Dior and Phoebe Philo to Louis Vuitton

fashionologie — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 07:14:24 PDT

>> A couple of weeks after rumors popped up suggesting that Marc Jacobs was at the top of the pack to take over as Dior's new designer, reports corroborate that the rumors just might be true.

According to WWD, Bernard Arnault is in talks with Jacobs about moving from Louis Vuitton to Dior, and meetings have reportedly been scheduled in Paris this week between Dior officials and legal representatives for Jacobs. Jacobs, who signed on as Vuitton's artistic director in 1997, has been in the midst of renewing his employment contract at Vuitton, but those discussions are said to have been put on hold, pending the outcome of Jacobs's discussions with Dior.

One source cautioned WWD that deal with Jacobs is not done, but both the designer and Dior management are so far "excited" about the prospect. If the deal goes through, Jacobs will get his first opportunity as a couturier, and his business partner Robert Duffy would come with him. Dior declined to comment on the reports, and Jacobs could not be reached for comment.

As for who would replace Jacobs at Vuitton, it sounds like Phoebe Philo could be first in line. LVMH has already reportedly held preliminary discussions with Philo, who is said to be "intrigued" by the project. If the shuffling plays out, it's reportedly likely she would design Vuitton in addition to Celine.

WWD reports that a number of potential candidates have been approached to succeed John Galliano, who exited Dior in March, including Alber Elbaz, Nicolas Ghesquière, Sarah Burton, Haider Ackermann and Hedi Slimane. Elbaz and Ghesquiere, who both have equity stakes in and strong commitments to the houses they design for, have withdrawn themselves from the running, and Burton is said to have rebuffed overtures. Talks with Ackermann and Slimane, meanwhile, did not end in an agreement. As for Riccardo Tisci, he is still considered a dark-horse candidate, and has been championed by Delphine Arnault, Dior deputy managing director and Bernard Arnault's daughter.

Hermes Wanted Helmut Lang to Replace Jean Paul Gaultier

fashionologie — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:04:50 PDT

>> Helmut Lang seems pretty set about not coming back to fashion - he recently shredded the remains of his archives for an art exhibition - but that doesn't mean he isn't still being pursued. Apparently, after Jean Paul Gaultier decided to leave Hermes in May 2010, Lang was the firm favorite to replace Gaultier as Hermes creative director, W reports. But: When Hermes courted Lang, he refused - he wanted to continue his newfound career as an artist instead of returning to fashion - and the job instead went to Christophe Lemaire.

While Hermes womenswear contributes less than 10 percent of the brand's annual turnover, it does have a symbolic significance in the media and how the brand is viewed. And speaking of views, another Hermes family member has spoken out about Bernard Arnault and the threat of an LVMH takeover. Pierre-Alexis Dumas, the company's group artistic director, tells W: “Hermes has grown out of a family culture with a set of values that we all believe in. I am convinced it would disappear if the family dimension was taken away or diluted. You know, there have been a lot of very good, small restaurants in Paris that have been bought by big chains over the years, usually in the name of better management. But somehow their clients have stopped going, because they have lost their souls ... This whole situation has been an incentive to work even harder. I have told everybody, ‘Listen, guys - it’s time to be more Hermes than ever.’”

Bernard Arnault Has Not Yet Forgiven John Galliano

fashionologie — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 09:04:34 PDT

>> It's sounding more and more like Bernard Arnault's long-held strategy of hiring enfant terrible designers to reinvigorate luxury brands (John Galliano at Dior, Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton, Alexander McQueen at Givenchy) will not be employed for his new Dior hire, whoever that may be.

Arnault has seen the even-tempered - even shy - Phobe Philo create triple-digit growth at Celine, and believes that it has the potential to be the next major brand. “It will take time, but [Celine] is on the way,” he tells Robin Givhan in Newsweek. “Phoebe has the potential. She is doing a style which is completely in line with our time.” Plus, he notes: “My daughter Delphine, she’s working at Dior, but she wears Celine.”

There's also the bad taste that Galliano seems to have left in Arnault's mouth. “I’m surprised that I did not get a call or a word of excuse from him,” he said not long after Galliano was fired. “After all that I did for him?” And he still hasn't been able to bring himself to forgive Galliano: “Not yet."

Although Arnault says he has no plans to make Dior into a minimalist label in the way of Celine, he does suggest it's time for a change at the house. Givhan writes: "[It's] time to recast his global, glittering, status-laden empire as something else. The watchwords are: intimate, Old World, artful. And the timing feels right."

As Dior chief executive Sidney Toledano points out: “A lot of schools produce designers, but the technical people - this is what we have to protect. They work very hard here, and they live outside of Paris. They are not living like the designer. They are simple people. Some of them have a difficult life. They have their feet on the ground." Ultimately, he says, "They’re sustaining the house."

Arnault agrees, saying of the current Dior situation: “I think we have the equivalent of the Vienna Philharmonic. From time to time, the Vienna Philharmonic could play without a conductor because they are so good. But that cannot last forever. We want to [make] the best choice for the house and find the best conductor.”

But, star designers can come and go. “A good product,” Arnault says, “can last forever.”

Bernard Arnault Will Not Be Hiring John Galliano Back; New Galliano Designer Named

fashionologie — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 11:14:47 PDT

>> Despite reports late last week that LVMH was considering re-hiring John Galliano to design for his eponymous label, it's not happening. LVMH chief Bernard Arnault laid any rumors to rest on Saturday, when he said of Galliano: “He will not be working for LVMH.” Arnault added that after Galliano's arrest and dismissal from Dior and LVMH, “he didn’t have the simple politeness to contact me.”

When asked if he had been concerned about Galliano's behavior and absences from work in recent years, Sidney Toledano, CEO at both John Galliano and Christian Dior, replied: “There were concerns, and we warned him officially. I’ve talked to the lawyers for years.”

A new designer, meanwhile, is stepping into Galliano's shoes - at least at his namesake label. Bill Gaytten, who worked beside Galliano in his studio for 23 years, took a bow at the end of the Galliano Spring 2012 menswear show in Paris on Friday (which featured Galliano lookalikes) and is set to succeed Galliano at the creative helm of the collection, Toledano confirmed.

Gaytten oversaw the men's collection from conception to runway. “It’s the same job for me; I’ve been doing it for a long time,” he said. “It was a bit different because John wasn’t there.” He then confessed: “I’m dying to know what he thinks!”

Gaytten is also the studio team leader for Dior's Fall 2011 couture show next week, fueling speculation that he might be a contender to succeed Galliano at Dior, as well. Toledano declined comment on that search.

Azzedine Alaia Was Asked To Take Over at Dior

fashionologie — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:12:47 PDT

>> Azzedine Alaia was called to take the open creative director job at Dior, recently vacated by John Galliano, he has just confirmed. But: he said he wasn't interested - flattered, but not something he was going to pursue. The story of what happened with Galliano was a sad story, he added, and he didn't want to be part of the next chapter. As the Financial Times's Vanessa Friedman points out: "The sheer fact that the Dior leadership was thinking this way does ... make me think the field may be more open than the fashion world suspects. ... Since I would never under-estimate Bernard Arnault, chairman of Dior (which actually owns LVMH), nor CEO Sidney Toledano, ... this makes me wonder if perhaps the group has some interesting plans to change the way it does business up its sleeve, and will use the new designer as an excuse to do so. If so, it would be a revolution that would have an enormous ripple effect on the whole fashion industry. My guess is other brands would immediately fall in behind; everyone is looking for a reason to change and slow down, but everyone is scared to be the brand that sticks its neck out." [FT]

Marc Jacobs on His "Great Talent" and Trying to Top the Last Louis Vuitton Show

fashionologie — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:54:00 PDT

>> In anticipation of his Lifetime Achievement Award, which he will receive during the CFDA Awards Monday, Marc Jacobs (who notes of the award, "It’s not my achievement, number one. It is Marc Jacobs as a company") sat down with WWD to wax philosophical on everything from Alexander Wang to Twitter to whether he considers himself a "great talent."

Highlights from the interview, below.

On what he did for Memorial Day: “Memorial Day? I don’t think I’ve had a Memorial Day off in 30 years. We’re all here [at the office]. The design team’s here, working through Saturday, Sunday, Monday. I’ll go to the gym every morning, but I’ll be here after the gym. It’s resort.”

On his success and being recognized in public and approached by fans: "I can’t help but remember the days when Robert [Duffy, his business partner] and I were interviewed for 48 Hours [in 1988]. Robert was building a runway. I’m vomiting in the bathroom because we hadn’t slept in three days and we were delirious and hallucinating. So none of that ever goes away."

On whether he's a "great talent": "No. I still wouldn’t say I am ... I don’t mind if you say it but I’m not going to say it myself."

On winning this year's CFDA Lifetime Achievement award: "I haven’t even sat down to write the [CFDA] speech yet but I’ve been thinking a lot about it, about what does this mean to me and what does this mean to us. I just turned 48 but I don’t feel 48. I still feel like a young person but I really see the difference in the work. I’m trying to understand what all of that means and how I feel about it."

On younger designers: "People ask me about the younger designers, Alex Wang and all of them, I think they’re great. I couldn’t do what they do. It’s not what I do. But just like in pop music and in the art world, people always want new work from the artist that they like but they also want new artists. I don’t think one changes the other. There’s always room for new designers, new musicians, new artists, new writers. Madonna, I don’t think is showing any signs of slowing down, but that doesn’t mean Lady Gaga isn’t taking over the world."

On the most recent Louis Vuitton show: "I loved the Vuitton show. I think as a show it was probably my favorite presentation we’ve ever done of a collection. I really loved it ... I’ve spent the past two weeks, which is superpremature, thinking that I don’t know what we’re going to do to top that last Vuitton show. I thought it was the most beautiful presentation. I think, 'Why am I doing this to myself?' but it’s inevitable. When I get back to Paris two weeks from now, I’m just going to be like, 'What are we going to do? What are we going to do?' The answer won’t come right away."

On designers he admires: "I think the greatest contributors to fashion are women. Chanel, Vionnet. I think Vivienne Westwood; I think Miuccia Prada; Schiaparelli, Rei Kawakubo ... The one that I probably feel the most strongly about is Miuccia, because of the aesthetic and the mood. There’s something so shocking and so tender about it, and it’s also very real ... There’s an eccentricity but there’s also a chic old world sophistication, but it’s so new. It’s young but never vulgar. There’s a sex appeal that’s kind of naïve. It’s all the things I love."

On his debt to Tom Ford: "I felt that [being hired for Vuitton] was all born from Tom [Ford’s] success at Gucci. I believe Mr. Arnault was aware of that and said, 'We can do that with Vuitton.'"

On working for Bernard Arnault: "I meet with Mr. Arnault every time I’m in Paris. He’s such a hands-on sort of guy. He goes to every store in every country and he discusses things with me ... He was thrilled with the last [Vuitton] show. He felt that one and the one around the fountain were how he would like women to see Vuitton’s image as a fashion brand. He’s very up front and honest with me about what he likes and what he doesn’t like, what he thinks works and also what he thinks works in other places. Not that he’s asking me to do what someone else does, but to look at the success of certain things."

On the resources available to him at Louis Vuitton: "If you look at our first Vuitton show, we wanted to send out a nice collection of simple clothes with all the logos on the inside and one single bag on Kirsten Owen. It has evolved into, ‘OK, this is Paris. Let’s have three elevators.’ I asked for six; I got three. So we’re like, ‘Let’s get Kate Moss, Naomi [Campbell]. Let’s fly in Stella [Tennant]. Let’s fly in Carolyn [Murphy] and Amber [Valletta].’ You want a show? Okay guys, I’ll give you a show."

On critics: "You are dealing with a whole lot of highly sensitive people who [will react] depending on their mood and how they’re feeling that day or what they did or didn’t eat for lunch. I have no problem going on record with this and probably have gone on record with this before, there aren’t that many people who I respect. There just aren’t. I think journalists have the right to their opinions but I think their opinions should be based on history and what they see, not what they feel, how long they’ve been waiting or whether it’s raining or it’s snowing or whatever."

On whether traditional media matters anymore: "I’m not sure it does as much as it used to, and I’m not sure how much it ever did ... [But] I feel like it affects the energy of all of us. In fashion we all gossip about it because within our community it’s extremely important. I think it breaks momentum or a sort of energy when there’s harsh criticism, and I think when the critique is positive, we all feel quite robust and we’re out there. In that way, it has an effect. But in another, I think a woman’s going to go into a shop to find a coat or a jacket and I just don’t think she’s not going to go into a shop because of a bad review she probably didn’t even read."

On joining Twitter: "I’ve got better things to do. I don’t need to talk to like schoolteachers from New Jersey about what was valid [in a collection] and what was invalid and what was derivative and what was referencing. I mean, I’ve just got work to do. I really don’t care to argue with you."

Riccardo Tisci Reportedly Lobbying for Dior Job; Plus, the Other Designers on LVMH's Short List

fashionologie — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:08:17 PDT

>> LVMH is taking its time with the announcement of Dior's new designer, and it sounds like the decision still has yet to be made. At a recent shareholders' meeting, Bernard Arnault said the plan was to interview a number of candidates before making the call when "conviction" arrives.

But who's reportedly on the short list of candidates Bernard Arnault's advisors have submitted? Tom Ford, Hedi Slimane, Olivier Theyskens, Nicholas Ghesquiere, Alber Elbaz, Haider Ackermann, Prabal Gurung, and Sarah Burton. However, a source in Paris told WWD that LVMH is placing less importance on marquee names and focusing rather on “someone who understands Dior and fits the needs of the company.”

While Arnault, chairman of the board at Dior, is sure to get the final say on the appointee, Dior CEO Sidney Toledano, who has helmed the company since 1998, and Delphine Arnault (Bernard's daughter), deputing managing director at Dior and widely viewed as the eventual LVMH heir apparent, are also expected to weigh in. Apparently Dior execs are also receiving unsolicited designer suggestions from top editors and even shareholders.

Delphine, for her part, is seen as a champion of Riccardo Tisci; the Givenchy designer has reportedly been lobbying for the position as well, sketching out his vision for the brand. Bernard Arnault, meanwhile, is reportedly transfixed by royalty, and if Sarah Burton does dress Kate Middleton for her wedding at the end of the month (despite Burton's and the McQueen company's denials), she may pull ahead in the race. Arnault would be keen to launch the new Dior alongside the newly-married couple; Princess Diana, after all, helped catapult the brand's image in 1995 when she wore a Lady Dior bag and then in 1996 when she wore a midnight blue, bias-cut Dior gown by John Galliano to the Costume Institute Gala.

In the meantime, design duties are falling on Dior's in-house design studios, headed by Bill Gaytten, who has worked beside Galliano since the '80s. They're already creating the Cruise 2012 collection and have started in on the upcoming Fall 2011 couture collection, in preparation for its debut in July.

Si Newhouse on Ousting Anna Wintour From Vogue - "Never. I Hope She's Here 10 Years From Now"

fashionologie — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 11:27:14 PDT

>> Mario Testino photographed Anna Wintour for the April 2011 cover of WSJ. - likely at her request (he often shoots Vogue's covers). Because if there's one thing about Wintour, it's that she does things on her own terms.

Si Newhouse (chairman of Advance Publications, which owns Vogue) attests with an anecdote about a Fashion's Night Out meeting Wintour held in Paris, which had 30 international Vogue editors and publishers in attendance: "It was the first time anybody had gotten them all together. She didn't need my authority to do it - she has a remarkable ability to impose her will. If I had had reservations, she probably would have gone ahead anyway."

Marc Jacobs, too, confirms: "If I get a request for something I don't want to do, first I get an email, then a phone call from someone at Vogue, and now I don't even bother to say no - I know the next call is from her." And New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who Wintour has worked with on a number of initiatives - including Fashion's Night Out - says: "Behind all Anna's grace and poise is some pretty tough resolve. She's not a person you want to say no to."

Even the Costume Institute has bowed to Wintour's requests (she has raised a grand total of $75 million for the organization, after all). For last year's gala, she had a 30-foot hot-air balloon trucked in from South Dakota to float above the museum's Engelhard Court. "When we first saw it, we go, 'Never! We can't have gas in the museum!' " says Met president Emily Rafferty. "Anna's changed our attitude - she's brought us to new levels of thinking of what we can do, but without ever losing sight that we're working in a museum context here."

Needless to say, Wintour's reach extends much further than fashion. Harvey Weinstein, who has known Wintour for 15 years (and more recently married Marchesa's Georgina Chapman), notes: "I'm a streak player, but Anna's there, good or bad. When I wasn't doing so well, Anna would throw a party and put me next to Bernard Arnault." Although he declined to be specific, Weinstein said that he had several business deals come out of that party. And Baz Luhrmann, who just recently cast Wintour favorite Carey Mulligan to star in his upcoming film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, says: "I always talk to Anna about what I'm up to, and I always listen to what she has to say."

Within fashion, too, Wintour is more than just an editor. As Francois-Henri Pinault, head of PPR, says: "She tackles things that are really much bigger than what any other editors take on." Because of Wintour, Pinault is currently discussing how to financially support young designers with the French government. But Wintour never straight-out asks him to do something: "She's much more subtle than that."

She's also something of a matchmaker - whether it's designer to brand (in the case of placing John Galliano at Christian Dior back in 1996; Bernard Arnault - chairman of LVMH, which owns Dior - says of Wintour: "She pointed us towards unexpected choices. I speak very openly to her, and this was quite audacious - it was not about picking the big names of the moment. It took her to see that there was a stylistic closeness between John and Dior. She was the discoverer.") or brand to financier (in the case of Bottega Veneta and Gucci Group or Michael Kors and Sportswear Holdings). "She does this very discreetly, but she's really a kind of consigliere to the entire fashion and retail industry," one former colleague who worked closely with Wintour says. Another former colleague, who attended several corporate matchmaking meetings with Wintour, adds: "I came to realize that she's really the McKinsey of fashion." As for Wintour's word on the matter? "We can suggest," she says, "but in the end, everybody makes up their own minds."

It sounds like Wintour isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Vogue is Conde Nast's most profitable publication, Si Newhouse confirms, adding that he has no successor in mind: "Never. I hope she's here 10 years from now, 20 years from now." Wintour, for her part, says: "With all the new media outlets out there, with all the noise, a voice of authority and calm like Vogue becomes more important than ever. The more eyes on fashion, the more opinions about fashion, the more exploration of fashion around the world, the better it is for Vogue. Vogue is like Nike or Coca-Cola - this huge global brand. I want to enhance it, I want to protect it, and I want it to be part of the conversation."

A few more quotables from the WSJ. profile:

Marc Jacobs on Wintour's cold reputation: "She gets such a bad rap. She stands by the people she believes in, and if you're not one of those people, perhaps you take a different view."

Wintour's take on her reputation: "I care deeply about my friends and my family and they know it, but work is work."

Wintour on cover choice regrets: "I'm not terribly proud of putting the Spice Girls on the cover."

Wintour on the John Galliano scandal: "This is all so tragic."

Wintour on being criticized for using the same people in Vogue: "I try to remain open to new people, but obviously there's a stronger element of trust with people you've known for a long time. I think we have a Vogue vocabulary, and there are certain people we like to have as the backbone of the magazine - Vogue's signposts. We try very hard to integrate the familiar signatures with people we feel are new and up-and-coming, but I would rather err on the side of being a little more familiar than being too . . . What's the right word? . . . Edgy."

WSJ. on Wintour's morning habits: "When I met Wintour in her big, artfully tidy office at Vogue, she had been up since 5 am - her normal waking hour. On most days she goes off to play tennis at 6, but lately she's been nursing a sore elbow and can't play. Which didn't mean no tennis."