>> An in-house team has produced the last two Halston collection since Marco Zanini left, but the search is still on for a creative director.  Sources say that young London talent Marios Schwab might be the man — he's apparently been in talks with the brand — but Bonnie Takhar, Halston CEO, wouldn't confirm anything. “We have been looking at all options in the market, but we have made no decisions.”

If Schwab were to take the job, would he be required to shutter his eponymous label?  Increasingly, brands are looking for devoted creative directors who don't have to split time between labels; in fact, a lot of brands are digging up designers who have never helmed a label before: Vionnet just hired Prada alum Rodolfo Paglialunga, Nina Ricci is supposedly going with Louis Vuitton-trained Peter Copping, Valentino recently promoted accessory designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, and Chloe decided on alum Hannah MacGibbon.

Hiring designers: it's not what it used to be »

>> INSIDER WIRE —Confirming last week's reports, former Valentino chairman Matteo Marzotto and Marni's CEO Gianni Castiglioni have bought Vionnet.  Creative directorship has been placed in the hands of Rodolfo Paglialunga, a twelve-year veteran of Prada, where he was one of Miuccia's assistants.  The first designs will preview in early June, and Rodolfo will make his runway debut during Paris Fashion Week in October, the same time that Phoebe Philo makes her runway debut at Celine. [WWD]

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