Updated Monday April 9, 6.48pm: Christian Dior has confirmed that Raf Simons has taken the place of John Galliano at the house. The designer, who left his post as creative director of Jil Sander in February, will show his first collection for Dior during Couture Week in July, WWD reports, and will hold the official title of "artistic director".
"Raf Simons is an extraordinarily talented designer," said Alexandra Shulman on hearing the news. "He combines great skill and vision with modernity and a point of view, which is essential for leading fashion houses today."
The appointment comes more than a year after John Galliano's high profile dismissal, which preceded a trial in Paris during which he was found guilty of using anti-Semitic insults. Simons is only the sixth designer to helm Christian Dior - following the founder, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, and John Galliano in the role.
READ THE BIOGRAPHY OF CHRISTIAN DIOR
Updated Monday March 19 9.43am: One of the designers linked with the still-vacant post at the helm of Christian Dior, Haider Ackermann, has spoken about the possibility of helming an established house alongside his eponymous label.
"There are two houses I would be interested in," Ackermann said. "Two where I feel there is shared sensibility, and I could bring something else of myself to the house, which isn't expressed in my own line."
SEE ACKERMANN'S BIOGRAPHY HERE
Although reluctant to name either house, he concedes that his dream is "couture". Ackermann has long been linked with the creative directorship at Chanel - after Karl Lagerfeld named him as his chosen successor if and when he decides to step down - and was linked again with the Dior job in March of this year after flowers arrived at Dior's Paris headquarters addressed to him (read more below). Despite the pressure placed on designers in established houses - widely assumed to have contributed to John Galliano's very public fall from grace last March - Ackermann insists this isn't something that would worry him.
"Look, let's be honest," Ackermann told the Financial Times. "You can't just blame the system. We are all responsible for our own lives. I find it difficult when people complain about the pressure. This is fashion, it's not surgery. It's a job; a job with a lot of dreams woven in."
SEE THE LATEST HAIDER ACKERMANN SHOW
Updated Monday March 13, 9.07am: Respected fashion commentator Colin McDowell has weighed in on the Dior successor debate again this morning - insisting that new blood, rather than a safe established name, is what the house needs for the next phase of its development.
"And so we come to the tragic case of Dior," he writes for the Business of Fashion, after offering his opinion on Raf Simons' Jil Sander departure and Hedi Slimane's YSL arrival. "And it is tragic on more levels than one: that a label needs a designer and that a man, for all his transgressions, needs a job. Fashion needs that man. To insert Bill Gaytten - an undisputedly brilliant technician, but not a designer - into the gap at Dior can be nothing but a temporary solution. It's high time this gap was closed. But why not with somebody young and untested, as Yves Saint Laurent was when he took over the reins at Dior at the tender age of 21 and went on to revolutionise women's clothes? I still believe that designers with genius and courage, traits which are invariably independent of age, are more likely to thrive at a grand Paris label than at brands in any of the world's other fashion capitals at this point."
McDowell made headlines last year after he revealed he had written to Dior chief executive Sidney Toledano to recommend Yves Saint Laurent-lookalike Erdem Moralioglu for the vacant post. Another young London-based designer, Christopher Kane, was linked with the job last month (see below) - but told us exclusively that he is not in the running.
Updated Wednesday March 7, 1.12pm: Whispers on the Miu Miu front row this afternoon (where Marc Jacobs tapped his feet as he watched the show), suggest that - after all the back-and-forth - Jacobs is set to be announced as the Christian Dior creative director this afternoon.
Jacobs was one of the first names in the frame when Galliano was dismissed in March 2011, but after serious negotiations with LVMH ceo Bernard Arnault, Jacobs effectively ruled himself out of the running late last year - reportedly after his request to bring his entire Louis Vuitton team with him was denied by Arnault.
WAS THIS JACOBS' LAST VUITTON SHOW?
"I am at Vuitton, and I am very happy there," Jacobs said in December 2011. "I've been saying that for a long time. There have been on-and-off conversations about Dior. I don't know; maybe someday in the future, maybe years from now, I may end up going someplace else, maybe Dior. But right now I am at Vuitton, and all that matters to me is that that's where I am and I'm going to keep doing my thing."
In some way substantiated by this morning's show, which was a tribute to Louis Vuitton's proud history as a luggage brand, Jacobs' rumoured departure would leave the way open for recently-departed Jil Sander creative director Raf Simons to take the Louis Vuitton helm.
SEE THE LATEST ON RAF'S DEPARTURE HERE
Updated Thursday March 1, 8.43am: While the fashion world seems to think that the appointment of Raf Simons at Christian Dior is a foregone conclusion - despite murmurs that contract negotiations have stalled and Bill Gaytten's agreement may have been extended - we heard some news this morning that may just throw a spanner in the works. A source in Paris tells us that a bouquet of flowers arrived at Dior HQ yesterday morning addressed to one Haider Ackermann - the Columbian-born designer first linked with the job in March 2011 following Galliano's departure.
Could this be a mistake? A simple address mix-up? Well, considering that Ackermann's Paris offices on the Rue Saint Maur are almost three and a half miles from Dior's Avenue Montaigne HQ, it seems unlikely. So does someone know something we don't?
SEE ACKERMANN'S BIOGRAPHY HERE
Previously said to be considered "too edgy" for Dior, he was linked with a move to Givenchy at a time when Riccardo Tisci seemed the likely replacement for Galliano. Karl Lagerfeld has made no secret of the fact that he would like Ackermann to replace him at Chanel when the time is right, but could Dior tempt him away from that offer?
IS ACKERMANN THE RIGHT MAN FOR DIOR?
Updated Tuesday February 28, 10.42am: Christopher Kane has ruled himself out of the running for the Dior job, just a day after he was linked with the role by the International Herald Tribune's Suzy Menkes.
"While it is incredibly flattering that I could be considered for a role at a house such as Dior at this stage in my career, I can confirm that I have not been approached," Kane told us this afternoon. "I am focused on developing my own label and my ongoing collaboration with Donatella Versace for Versus."
SEE KANE'S LATEST OFFERING FOR VERSUS
Industry insiders feel that it is likely that Raf Simons will be appointed to the label, following his departure from Jil Sander, but both Stefano Pilati - this week confirmed to be leaving YSL - and Hedi Slimane are still being mooted for the role.
Updated Monday February 27, 1.31pm: Respected fashion writer Suzy Menkes has added another possible name to the mix for the Dior job, by suggesting that London designer Christopher Kane could now be in the running.
"The collaboration between Donatella Versace and Christopher Kane with his sister Tammy is a sweet reminder of the Gianni Versace-Donatella years," Menkes says. "But what if - as the rumour mill claims - Mr Kane has been put up for the Dior job? There will be yet another round of musical chairs."
SEE THE LATEST CHRISTOPHER KANE SHOW
The quote is part of a longer piece which Menkes has written for the International Herald Tribune this morning, about the current upheaval in the fashion world - beginning a year ago with the dismissal of John Galliano from Dior, continuing with Friday's announcement that Raf Simons will be replaced at Jil Sander by the woman herself, and further compounded by today's confirmation that Stefano Pilati will leave YSL - which, she says, "leaves a queasy feeling".
IS STEFANO PILATI HEADING TO DIOR?
"Caught in this maelstrom are the designers," she says. "By their nature artistic and fragile people, they see themselves treated like commodities, bought and dispensed with as the corporate house pleases… Cut off from reality as Mr Galliano was and many others still are, in the world of first-class travel and the chauffer at the door, they find themselves enmeshed in a web of their own making."
"Marc Jacobs is one of the few designers who has fought and won, from LVMH, the right to build a global empire in his own name," she adds. "Yet, when he was approached to take over at Dior, he reportedly asked for too much in return."
Updated Thursday February 23, 2.07pm: The Jil Sander press department has confirmed that Raf Simons is set to leave the label following Saturday's show. Whether he will head to Dior, or even to YSL as has been rumoured, is as yet unconfirmed - as is who his replacement will be.
SEE RAF'S LATEST JIL SANDER COLLECTION
"The Jil Sander Group and Raf Simons announce today that Mr Simons will leave his position as creative director," a spokesperson confirmed in a statement. "Jil Sander Group and Raf Simons agreed that the designer will step down from his position as of February 27, 2012. Raf Simons was appointed Jil Sander creative director on July 1, 2005 with his first collection being men's autumn/winter 2006-7. The women's autumn/winter 2012-13 collection will be his last for the company. Jil Sander thanks Raf Simons for his dedicated commitment to the brand, throughout these years, and wishes him the very best for the future. Jil Sander Group will communicate the appointment of a new creative director in the next few days."
Watch this space.
Updated Thursday February 23, 2.07pm: Raf Simons is said to be set to depart Jil Sander this weekend following the show on Saturday, Cathy Horyn of the New York Times reports today. But even more shocking than the rumour that Simons will leave to helm Dior, is the suggestion that he will be succeeded by Jil Sander herself.
"Rumours of Mr. Simons' departure - which is expected to happen after his Sander show on Saturday - have been circulating for the past day or so. A spokesman for the company declined to comment," Horyn said today. "At the same time, there have been unconfirmed reports in the media, mainly on Twitter, that Jil Sander is returning to the brand that she founded."
Sander resigned as chairwoman, and shortly thereafter as chief designer, from her eponymous company in November 2004 - for the second and, many assumed, final time - after confrontations with Patrizio Bertelli, CEO of Prada, which owns a majority share of the company.
SEE THE LATEST ON JOHN GALLIANO
Updated Wednesday January 25, 10.18am: As Bill Gaytten recovers from showing his second Christian Dior couture collection - his third collection for the label - and prepares to present the brand's ready-to-wear offering in March, the question of Galliano's successor still looms over the house. The lastest from LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault? Don't hold your breath. Arnault told the New York Times yesterday that no announcement about a new designer would be made this week - and that the "suspense" was set to continue indefinitely.
SEE THE DIOR COUTURE SHOW HERE
Updated Monday January 16, 9.26am: Raf Simons was not about to turn his Milan Jil Sander menswear show into an impromptu Dior announcement. Asked about the rumours by one brave journalist, the designer smiled and stated simply: "Nothing to say".
SEE THE JIL SANDER MENSWEAR SHOW
Updated Monday January 9, 9.11am: Marc Jacobs has spoken about how flattered he felt to have been considered by Bernard Arnault to succeed John Galliano at Christian Dior, but has again reaffirmed that he will not be the one to step into the British designer's shoes.
"It's a great honour to be considered, and Mr Arnault is a super intelligent man and a very smart man and it was certainly a very great honour for him to know that I was capable - and not only capable but that I am someone that he would have wanted for the job," Jacobs told the Telegraph. "But I am very happy to be here. There is so much more left to do and building Louis Vuitton into a fashion company is something nobody else can say they really started."
It was rumoured that contract negotiations broke down when Jacobs' request to bring his entire Vuitton team with him to Dior was rejected by Arnault. So was the job his to refuse in the end?
"Well… it's a little bit more complicated than that…but we agreed that it was probably best for everyone," he said.
Updated Monday December 19, 9.20am: Marc Jacobs has ruled himself out of the running for the Dior job once and for all.
"I am at Vuitton, and I am very happy there," said Jacobs. "I've been saying that for a long time. There have been on-and-off conversations about Dior. I don't know; maybe someday in the future, maybe years from now, I may end up going someplace else, maybe Dior. But right now I am at Vuitton, and all that matters to me is that that's where I am and I'm going to keep doing my thing.
"The irony in all of this is that I don't dream of doing anything else, or I didn't. My greatest challenge is to do something better than we've done the season before. The idea of couture doesn't hold that thing for me. It's archaic - in my opinion. I mean, I am really interested in the craftsmanship behind couture. But I can explore all that in ready-to-wear. With couture, one dress each season is photographed by a couple of magazines; there's no advertising; it reaches 20 customers. I don't feel there is anything lacking in what we do. I get to work with these amazing craftsmen. Maybe not the same ateliers that would make a couture dress, but, again, we are not in a deficit for working with people who create beautiful things. I am not sure I ever looked at couture as this great opportunity."
SEE JACOBS' LATEST LOUIS VUITTON SHOW
And at Christmas time, when most people are celebrating with families, Jacobs has expressed his own views on togetherness. The designer has not seen his mother, brother or sister for 20 years.
"I hate this idea that you have to love somebody because they are your family," he told US Vogue. "Nobody can tell me what I'm supposed to feel and who I am supposed to feel it for. I don't blame them, I don't hate them, I just know that I don't feel love for them. That's all. And I am not going to make the call or try to stay in touch because society says, But it's your mother. Oedipus, Schmoedipus."
Updated Thursday December 15, 8.45am: With rumours circulating that Raf Simons is the new frontrunner for the Dior job, fellow designer Valentino isn't convinced he'd be the right man to follow in John Galliano's footsteps.
"I'm not sure - it's an amazing job, I don't know if he would be the right person for it," Valentino told us at a private view of Anthony Souza's new photography exhibition this week. "John Galliano is difficult to replace. I think it's important not to jump into things. It needs to be a logical continuation of the brand. But who am I to say anything? I guess we all just have to wait and see."
Updated Tuesday December 13, 8.30am: Dior is said to be finalising its contract with Raf Simons, as reports escalate that he has been hired as the label's new creative director replacing John Galliano. The deal is yet to be concluded, with the house and the 43-year-old Belgian designer still rumoured to be discussing his start date and the finer details of his contract with Jil Sander - of which he is the currently helmer. If reports by WWD are true, the move may mark a change in Dior's design aesthetic - Simons being known for his minimal, futuristic, modern looks. Simons has previously been mooted to replace Stefano Pilati at Yves Saint Laurent.
SEE SIMONS LATEST JIL SANDER SHOW
Updated Friday November 11, 8.15am: The deal seemed all but sealed, but now it seems we may not see a Marc Jacobs collection for Christian Dior, as talks between the two are reported to have stalled.
Bernard Arnault has reportedly paused talks with the New York-based designer, who he flew to Manhattan to meet last month, as an LVMH shake up grows less likely. Phoebe Philo - Arnault's first choice to take over from Vuitton if Jacobs moved to Dior, WWD reports - is reportedly keen to stay at Celine. But, with Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci also seemingly happy to stay put, who else could take the Dior helm?
LVMH has expressed interest in Alexander Wang, a source close to the label told us in September, and names including Raf Simons and Jason Wu are said to still be in the frame - but increasing fashion opinion is that the return of a rehabbed, repentant and rejuvenated Galliano is the only answer. Manolo Blahnik and Franca Sozzani have already added their names to the list of those who would love to see him return, and Arnault said earlier this year that he couldn't see anyone but Galliano in the job.
"I could have asked many other talented designers to do Dior, but it would not have been the same," Arnault said in January. "Take Marc Jacobs, he has been a fantastic success at Vuitton and he has a proximity to the Vuitton spirit, but I don't think it would have been a success with Jacobs at Dior and the other way around, if I had asked John Galliano to do Vuitton, it would not have worked. An essential ingredient in the success of the brand today is the real proximity of Galliano to the talent of Christian Dior."
Galliano meanwhile, is focusing on his recovery, and his spokesperson declined to comment on the next step just yet.
"John is continuing with his rehab," a spokesperson for Galliano told us this morning. "It is a long process and with a clearer mind he is beginning to consider what his next steps may be."
SEE GALLIANO'S CAREER IN PICTURES
Updated Wednesday November 2, 10.43am: Azzedine Alaia has clarified his comments made in June this year that he was offered the Dior job - stating the position was presented to him a long time ago.
"No, they asked me a while ago, at the same time as Galliano, when he was at Givenchy," he told STYLE.COM. "They asked me for Dior, but I couldn't do it."
Updated Friday October 14, 8.14am: Carine Roitfeld thinks Marc Jacobs could well be the right man for the Dior job.
"Marc is used to working for a big brand and he's been working at LVMH for 12 years now," Roitfeld told us at the signing for her new book, Irreverent last night. "He understands the company, how it works and how to work with them. He's been given the shoulders to do the Dior job already. He's never done couture though, so I'd be really excited to see him do couture for Dior. He's a very smart person. If Marc gets the job, I won't miss a single show."
The former French Vogue editor added that for whoever does land the coveted role, it could be bittersweet.
"It's hard because there have been so many names floating around now that they might know that they weren't the first choice," she said.
READ OUR FULL INTERVIEW WITH ROITFELD
Updated Tuesday September 29, 10.41am: Despite rumours he is headed for Dior, Marc Jacobs has says he is perfectly happy at Louis Vuitton.
"I could never do this anywhere else," he told the Telegraph, after his fairytale Louis Vuitton show yesterday. "It's not just a Paris thing - Vuitton allows me. It's really, really something I feel particularly proud of and am grateful to the team for. We've all worked really hard and gone through a lot to get this to where it is now and we're starting to see results."
Updated Tuesday September 29, 10.41am: Christian Dior ceo Sidney Toledano has no intention of giving away any clue as to who will succeed Galliano at the house, hinting only that, "we will have news in the next few weeks".
"There is an old proverb," he told Vogue contributor Lisa Armstrong, she wrote in her Telegraph column, "those who don't know, speak loudly. Those who know, stay silent."
SEE WHAT BILL GAYTTEN TOLD HER HERE
Updated Tuesday September 28, 10.12am: The latest twist in the Alexander Wang for Dior saga is that LVMH may have been showing an interest in the young New Yorker for other reasons. While no investment has been confirmed, or even properly discussed, it seems Wang's burgeoning brand has caught the eye of LVMH - and rumours suggest that the designer could follow fellow New Yorker Marc Jacobs into to conglomerate's luxury stable.
WERE YOU IMPRESSED BY WANG'S SHOW?
Updated Tuesday September 27, 9.18am: Alexander Wang is the new name in the frame for the Dior job, as insiders say the three favourites have all been ruled out of the running.
"For Dior, it's a pretty tricky situation, as the three favourites really can't take the job," a source close to LVMH told us. "Haider Ackermann is said to be 'way too edgy' for Dior; Marc Jacobs wanted the job a lot, but LVMH wants him to stick with Vuitton; and Riccardo Tisci simply refused, saying that he was feeling more than comfortable with the job at Givenchy. So nobody's taking over so far."
Wang's tenth collection at New York Fashion Week - unveiled earlier this month - received favourable reviews, but industry experts may scoff at the idea since the young streetwear and sportswear-specialist has never tackled anything approaching couture before.
Updated Friday September 23, 9.17am: British-based designer Erdem has declined to comment on an article by fashion journalist Colin McDowell, who says he wrote to Dior ceo Sidney Toledano to recommend him for the Dior job. The writer compared him to a "young Yves Saint Laurent" and praised his spring/summer 2012 collection as"simply brilliant".
Updated Thursday September 16, 10.21am: Never one to shy away from stoking the fires of speculation, Marc Jacobs tantalised us all last night by talking about Dior as he presented his eponymous spring/summer 2012 line in New York.
"I'm not thinking past today. I don't know what I'm doing about anything," he told WWD at first, before revealing that any consideration of Dior "has nothing to do with salary, " and instead that any contract wrangles involve him being allowed to retain his current staff.
"I mean, I'd be honored to do Dior. But I work with a team, and I'd like to be able to keep working with them. I think it would be really exciting. I wouldn't be able to say no."
Updated Thursday September 15, 8.47am: Sources close to the top at LVMH have this morning rubbished rumours that Louis Vuitton ceo Yves Carcelle's departure from the label in any way paves the way for Marc Jacobs to move to Christian Dior.
Often described as the fashion industry's longest and strongest business and fashion partnership, the duo turned the ailing leather goods label into LVMH's most successful brand, accounting for the lion's share of the conglomerate's operating profits since 1997. Recently, Carcelle has been cited as one of the stumbling blocks against Jacobs' mooted move to Dior.
"As a proven talent, Mr. Jacobs could certainly do marvellous things at Dior, but I can't imagine that Yves Carcelle, the chief executive of Louis Vuitton, would be happy about such a move," the NY Times said last month.
But LVMH insiders insist there is no value to this, pointing out that the transition to new ceo Jordi Constans has been a gradual one, and that Carcelle will remain on the executive committee and will assume selected strategic roles alongside Bernard Arnault going forward. Carcelle's new full-time role will be as the president of the Fondation Louis Vuitton, the company's new art museum opening in early 2013.
Updated Tuesday September 13, 10.14am: Forget Marc Jacobs - Galliano's rumoured successor at Christian Dior - the company should bring back John Galliano, so says Italian Vogue editor Franca Sozzani.
"Hire back John Galliano," she told the Daily Beast. "Look, I understand their point of view. I understand they couldn't just say, 'Bad boy! We forgive you! Come back!' But it's really a pity. And I will never believe he believed what he said. I think he was drunk and alone in a bar. When people go crazy, they go crazy. It's a human case; it's not political or religious. He didn't kill anyone!"
Updated Monday September 12, 9.17am: Talks between Marc Jacobs and Christian Dior have stalled, reports suggest this morning, as both Jacobs and his business partner Robert Duffy attempt to negotiate a salary in excess of $10 million.
"According to sources, Dior president and chief executive officer Sidney Toledano is said to have recently spent several days in New York to meet with legal representatives for Jacobs and Duff," WWD reports today. "The duo is believed to be looking for a salary somewhere in the low eight figures each, plus other benefits."
If the deal goes through, and he moves from his current position as creative director of Louis Vuitton, Jacobs would become one of the highest-paid designers in the world. The move would involve more work than his role at Vuitton: the Dior job would comprise two couture collections a year, involving very detailed Paris-based atelier work with the Dior team, as well as four ready-to-wear collections a year, which he would do in addition to his own two New York-based women's and menswear collections - Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs.
Updated Thursday August 25, 10.21am: The fashion media has turned detective in the hunt for the new Dior creative director, seizing upon any clue that might lead us to the name in the frame - and now Marc Jacobs president Robert Duffy has dropped what could be seen a hint about his friend and business partner taking the job. He told the Wall Street Journal (among other things) that "[Marc] could do a couture line" - thereby throwing his hat in the ring for the only part of the Dior business that he doesn't have experience in. Duffy also revealed that, despite being "very fragile and childlike," Jacobs is no stranger to a diva strop: "Marc is famous for deciding things two weeks before the show, like, 'Oh my God, I want Stephen Jones to make polka-dot hats.' He expects the impossible from every single person. He expects everybody to just get with the program and get it done."
SEE WHAT DUFFY TOLD US ABOUT JACOBS
Updated Monday August 22, 8.51am: Following initial rumours almost a fortnight ago that Louis Vuitton's Marc Jacobs was in the frame for the Dior job, the whispers have been further substantiated by sources close to the brand - and a possible Vuitton successor has emerged in the shape of Phoebe Philo. Philo's move to Louis Vuitton would not stop her designing for Celine, WWD reports, but would likely see a down-scaling of the Louis Vuitton ready-to-wear collection. Until Jacobs' arrival the brand focused on large leather goods and accessories. LVMH had no comment to make when we contacted a spokesperson this morning.
WHY ARNAULT SAID JACOBS WAS WRONG FOR DIOR
Updated Thursday August 11, 9.11am: Is Marc Jacobs the new name in the frame at Dior? No shortlist has been revealed by the brand; no date has yet been set for an announcement; and lately the fashion world has begun to wonder if following Galliano might be the job that no one wants - but Brazilian website Glamurama now claims to have spoken to sources close to Bernard Arnault, who insist Jacobs is top of the Dior hit list.
"The two have met often in recent weeks to discuss the matter," it claims - even suggesting that the designer could oversee both Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, which fashion insiders would find unlikely: "Jacobs, the current creative director of Louis Vuitton, renewed his contract with LVMH in January - and it is possible for him to continue in his current position even if he takes over Dior. More likely, however, is that he'll end up choosing between one of two. Arnault would prefer him to go to Dior - as the billionaire sees it; Jacobs' image will only be good for the fashion house, which was considerably shaken by the Galliano scandal."
Jacobs denied he was in the frame for the job back in March, declaring: "I haven't been asked", whilst LVMH had no comment to make on the rumours this morning.
SEE GALLIANO'S CAREER IN PICTURES
Updated Wednesday July 6, 8.58am: Despite criticism of a captainless couture collection earlier this week, Dior is in no rush to name Galliano's successor.
"You know when you ask young girls all the time when they are going to get married, they reply: 'When I find the right man'," chief executive Sidney Toledano told AFP at the show. Toledano added the house would "take all its time" in finding "a long-term solution", adding: "All options are open for the future."
Updated Tuesday June 21, 8.43am: Azzedine Alaïa was offered the helm of Christian Dior when John Galliano was relieved of his duties, the legendary designer has revealed - but declined the offer.
"Mr Alaia wasn't interested," journalist Vanessa Friedman reports in the Financial Times today. "Flattered, but not about to pursue. The story of what happened with John was a sad story, he said when I asked him, and he didn't want to be part of the next chapter. And that's even before you got to the other stuff."
Friedman adds that Alaia's name entering the running, even if only to be ruled out, alters the race immeasurably.
"The sheer fact that the Dior leadership was thinking this way does, however, make me think the field may be more open than the fashion world suspects. Goody."
No one at Dior was able to confirm Alaia's assertion.
SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE GALLIANO TRIAL
Updated Wednesday June 8, 9.41am: Donatella Versace has asked the question the fashion world is dying to know the answer to: will Riccardo Tisci be the next creative director at Dior? Versace posed the question to her fellow Italian, who is the favourite to take the role, in a piece for Interview magazine - and Tisci revealed it is by no means certain.
DV: "Now I must ask you, do you have new ideas for Givenchy, or something new for Riccardo Tisci? I think you know what I mean." [laughs]
RT: "Yes, I know what you mean. You mean what happened at Dior. I don't know what will happen. Sincerely, I feel sorry for John. But for this moment I am leaving aside all the gossip of 'I am going here, I am going there,' because there is a lot of gossip circulating and there always will be. I will tell you, in this moment, I am very happy at Givenchy and it is a moment in which I am bringing the game to the next level. So I tell you, I feel at home. It's as if it were my son. I don't know how to explain it. It would be very difficult for me to leave."
DV: "It's like your child, there."
RT: "Absolutely. Because I arrived here, with a destroyed house, with nothing. I had to do everything very slowly. And with a little team and a great president, we achieved a lot. I am happy here. For now, it is still Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci, and I think that it will be for a long time, because it will be difficult to evict me from my house. I feel good here!" [laughs]
Updated Tuesday April 26, 10.12am: Karl Lagerfeld has weighed in on who he thinks should suceed Galliano at Dior.
"Well I'm not a consultant there, but I think Riccardo Tisci would be good, and then Haider Ackermann at Givenchy - not because they're friends of mine, but because they're good," he tells W.
He isn't, however, as concerned with who will become Balmain's new creative director - following Christophe Decarnin's departure earlier this month (read the full story here).
"Forget about it! This was a job done by a fashion editor," he says. "I don't even know the name of the man who did it, so don't ask me about that."
Updated Wednesday April 20, 9.17am: Not content with linking her name with the royal wedding dress, Sarah Burton is the latest designer to be named by the press as a possible Christian Dior creative director. Burton, who has denied any involvement in Kate Middleton's gown, has been touted by WWD as someone in the running for one of fashion's biggest jobs. If appointed, Burton would leave the flourishing McQueen label without a helmer - and it would see LVMH, which usually appoints successors from within the group, break with tradition by bringing her from rivals PPR. Prabal Gurung's name has also been linked with the job for the first time.
Updated Friday April 1, 9.11am: Bernard Arnault told the LVMH and Dior shareholders meetings yesterday that there is no rush to replace Galliano at Dior. He added that the team at Dior, who took a bow following the autumn/winter 2011-12 show, will create the collection without a creative director in the meantime: "They are effective, creative and accustomed to doing so," he said, WWD reports. Dior chief executive Sidney Toledano also added that even if no successor had been confirmed by the spring/summer 2012 shows in September, the show would go on as normal: "The calendar will be respected," he said.
SEE THE DIOR SHOW WITHOUT GALLIANO
Updated Monday March 14, 2.08pm: The bookies have closed bets on Galliano's successor and, if predictions are correct, it looks as if Riccardo Tisci is set to take the helm at Dior. Olivier Theyskens is thought to be about to replace him at Givenchy. There is still no official word from LVMH or Dior on the subject.
Updated Thursday March 10, 8.45am: Despite the wildfire of rumours raging on the internet this morning, asserting that Riccardo Tisci is about to be confirmed, it's still an official "no comment" from the LVMH camp on who might replace John Galliano at Dior. One man who has ruled himself out of the running is Louis Vuitton creative director Marc Jacobs: "No!" Jacobs told the International Herald Tribune backstage after the Vuitton show in Paris yesterday, when asked if he had John Galliano's former position in mind, before adding, "I haven't been asked".
Updated Wednesday March 9, 9.42am: More fuel was added to the Alber Elbaz for Christian Dior fire as STYLE.COM Tweeted yesterday: "Not to add to the Dior rumour mill, but people in Paris are asking, why has the Lanvin team been in tears all day?". In addition to the reported Lanvin tears, Jason Wu was spotted on the front row at the show, sparking whispers he's being lined up as Elbaz's Lanvin replacement. Wu wasn't giving anything away, stating simply, "I'm here for my first Lanvin show, Mrs Wang [the owner] invited me," when asked by WWD what he was doing at the show.
Updated Wednesday March 9, 7.06am: Fashion writer Derek Blasberg Tweeted: "I was just told backstage at the @KatyPerry concert (of all places!) that Riccardo Tisci is CONFIRMED at Dior. I leave #PFW for a second..."
Updated Monday March 7, 8.31am: Riccardo Tisci may be the frontrunner to take the helm at Dior, but the designer insists he's content where he is: "I felt this was a strong, positive season. And I'm happy at Givenchy," he said. But one fashion watcher would like to see him move to Dior: "I think Riccardo deserves the [Dior] position," Anna Dello Russo told STYLE.COM. "He's becoming a very mature artist. For me, Givenchy was the best show of the season so far."
SEE TISCI'S GIVENCHY COLLECTION HERE
Updated Friday March 4, 7.42am: Whispers from those in the know in Paris suggest that Riccardo Tisci is already being lined up to replace John Galliano for Christian Dior - and that Haider Ackermann will take over his role at Givenchy.
Updated Wednesday March 2, 8.24am: Alber Elbaz of Lanvin, YSL's Stefano Pilati and Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci and are the favourites to take over from John Galliano at Christian Dior, so the front row whispers go this morning, Balenciaga's Nicolas Ghesquiere, Nina Ricci's Peter Copping and Roland Mouret are also rumoured to be in the running. Christian Dior has not yet confirmed when a new appointment will be made, but nevertheless rumours abound.
Fashion insiders close to the action in Paris suggest that a major fashion reshuffle could be set in to motion in the coming week - and may be sparked by the rumoured appointment of Hedi Slimane and Carine Roitfeld as the new creative team at the helm of YSL. Nothing has been confirmed by the brand, but our sources suggest that - despite YSL protestations to the contrary - Pilati may be replaced.
Other names in the frame for the Christian Dior job include London-based BFC/Vogue Fashion Fund winner Erdem, Michelle Obama favourite Jason Wu, Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte and former Hermes creative director -and French fashion's enfant terrible - Jean Paul Gaultier.
The bookies are already taking bets, too. Yves Saint Laurent creative director Stefano Pilati is the current odds leader at 11/8, followed by former Dior Homme helmer Hedi Slimane at 9/4.
Current Dior Homme creative director Kris Van Assche is third at 4/1, with the man previously mooted as Lagerfeld's Chanel successor, Haider Ackermann, fourth at 8/1. Celine creative director Phoebe Philo and Giambattista Valli are shortly behind at 10/1 and 12/1 respectively. With the same odds as Valli, Tom Ford is the next name mentioned at 12/1, whilst Karl Lagerfeld follows him at 16/1. Emilio Pucci's Peter Dundas, Stella McCartney, Alessandra Facchinetti and Frida Giannini all also make the list with odds of between 16 and 20/1.
And then come the more unlikely candidates, according to bookmakers Paddy Power. Outside bets include Christopher Kane - ranked at a respectable 40/1 thanks to his success at Versus - and VOGUE.COM blogger Savannah Miller, currently sitting at 500/1. In case you had some money sitting around you were keen to get rid of, the bookmaker is also offering odds of 500/1 on Peaches Geldof and Lily Allen - and 1000/1 on Katie Price.
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