Who Will Succeed John Galliano At Dior? #2 *Update Raf Simons Offically Hired*

[Zazie]

Gaytten did some rather hideous collections - like Galliano run amok. He hasn't presented a coherent post-Galliano vision either. The problem with fashion design run as a purely coldly calculating business is that fashion is also a marketing of dreams and desires. Without that myth-making behind it, it will soon lose its credence. Dior could sink to the level of once great brands like Guy Laroche or what Rochas became after Theyskens left, if the public ceases to get excited over its fashion collections and the buzz ceases. Like it or hate it (I hated it...), Galliano had a very distinct woman in mind when he designs for Dior, a cross between Pigalle and Rue St Honore, a little louche character fused with a venerable tradition and couture that somehow works. Gaytten's creations are simply...bizarre..and after all, there are all the Celines, YSLs, Chanels, Pradas, Givenchys and strong new competition waiting in the wings to grab the bags and perfume business that the fashion helps to sell.

Elsewhere, I predicted Raf Simons despite his brilliance, wasn't right for Dior, not for the Dior that Galliano helped to shape anyway..., and sadly, I was right.

 

[Zazie]

If Dior had the foresight to sign on Raf Simons, I think the shows will get very exciting again, as he gets to pit his designs against Hedi Slimane at YSL, Tisci's Givenchy, Phoebe Philo's Celine, and NG's Balenciaga, plus Raf Simons will be more liberated to explore contemporary feminism, unlike the constraints he faced at Jil Sander. Unfortunately, we won't, it seems!

 

[iluvjeisa]

While I can understand that time has to pass after Galliano's fall from grace (like Lucifer himself) before they pick another chief designer for Dior, it's also worth considering that as long as they don't have a strong persona at the helm, the Dior name becomes even stronger linked to Galliano.

In other words, it makes business sense to announce the heir soon. Or this is going to be a dark time for Dior as a fashion house. No offence to Gaytten who is capable and all.....it doesn't matter...with the start he's had he can't get the allure that surrounds a great designer.

 

[tarsha]

PARIS–We know, we know. The rumor mill about who will succeed Galliano at Dior has gotten out of hand and we’re only contributing to it. But we couldn’t not share this juicy little tid bit. We heard from our source close to Dior late last night that flowers were delivered for Monsieur Ackermann, who, um, doesn’t work at Dior…yet? Our source called the situation “embarrassing” and “bizarre.”

Bizarre indeed. Ackermann was one of many names tossed into the ring as a possible successor to Galliano but was never one of the ones that stuck. It is worth noting that Ackermann did, of course, intern for Galliano, and told WWD of the experience that it was “the best study ever.” He also has admitted that he’s turned down nine different offers from various houses (but he’s mum on who they’ve been from) but said, “I would, at a certain point, accept a house which might fit me and which I would feel comfortable with–but there are not many.” When we asked him this past June what it would take to get him to take on a creative director position for a big house he told us, “That we both look at the same direction and have the same dreams…that those persons should not look at me and me not look at them but we both look a certain direction and have the same goal together.”

Could Dior’s dreams and directions have aligned with Ackermann’s? On verra…

Vogue UK got wind of the same information, and point out that Dior HQ and Ackermann HQ are three and a half miles from each other. The flowers, they infer, were probably not delivered by accident.

UPDATE: We just got word that Haider Ackermann has been looking to hire a new fulltime assistant. Not for his eponymous label, we hear (he already has an assistant there), but for something new…Nothing is confirmed at this point. And the plot thickens yet again.

fashionista

 

[Thefrenchy]

^Now that would be pretty cool!

 

[thejarc]

When it comes to Dior I'll wait for that damn press release until I believe anything. Marc and Raf have both been said to definitely have to job. Duh.

 

[Scott]

how atrocious if not downright offensive they brought kanye west's name into this debacle. whosoever started that should be banished from fashion forever to live on a pig farm with only overalls and straw hats as their wardrobe.

 

[Fashion_Girl22]

^ I can't give you karma rn, but every bit of that statement deserves it.

 

[tarsha]

Young French Designer Maxime Simoens Leaving Leonard, Is in Talks With Dior

Stefano Pilati isn’t the only designer showing his final collection for his French fashion house employer in Paris today. However, in the case of young French designer Maxime Simoens, it is also his first. Simoens began his role as creative director of Leonard last October and showed his first collection for the brand today, just as WWD reports he is expected to part ways with the brand.

Why so soon? Sources told the trade that he may have a better opportunity: namely, that elusive Dior job that we’ve all been waiting with baited breath to see filled. While not very well known, Simoens is considered a promising talent. At 27 years of age, he also designs his own eponymous line, which he shows during Paris couture week. In fact, he was the first designer ever to have been accepted into the French Federation of Fashion (of which the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture is an entity) without having ever shown a collection. WWD compares Simoens to Christian Dior’s successor Yves Saint Laurent, who took over the house at the age of 21.

fashionista

 

[TianCouture]

I can't stand Maxime Simoens aesthetic! I truly hope this is just a rumor!!!

 

[liberty33r1b]

Unbelievable Dior Twist?
LAUREN MILLIGAN Updated Wednesday March 7, 1.12pm: Whispers on the Miu Miu front row this afternoon suggest that - after all the back-and-forth - Marc 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 - reportly after his request to bring his entire Louis Vuitton team with him was denied by Arnault.
"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.

vogue.co.uk

 

[Thefrenchy]

Oh God, I'm so tired of this

 

[Boomer]

Oh God, I'm so tired of this

^ Yeah, me too! Jeeze- Dior can solve all of their problems with one phone call- it is so obvious; Lindsay Lohan is available! What more could they ask for? Look at all she did for Ungaro! (Alright, maybe not a good example, but...) Give her a suite to party in and a couple of dresses: problem solved!!

 

[TianCouture]

Ugh, I could not even begin to fathom Raf Simons @ LV. And considering Marc's current track record, which save for LV SS'12, has been really, really bad, I don't think he could manage @ Dior...and bringing his entire team? How many people would lose jobs @ Dior!? They should just re-hire Galliano and be done with it! Waaaaayyyyy to drawn out!

 

[mistress_f]

ok since the afternoon has now passed so we can stay calm and assume that that's not happening, right?
i already 'lost' most of my fav. designers, i can't really put up with marc doing couture.

 

[KhaoticKharma]

I'm starting to think keeping Gaytten around might be a smart move for all parties... hear me out on this one.

For the suits, he's making money. For the next big name creative director, well... he or she isn't forced to follow in the footsteps of the great Galliano. It'll be a lot easier to be compared to Gaytten than Galliano, and it also gives the brand a little time to be washed of the Galliano aesthetic, so to speak- if there's one thing Gaytten's doing well, it's making the brand as generic as possible. After six years of Gaytten's collections, the next designer/s- be it Marc Jacobs, Haider Ackermann, or the Mulleavy sisters- will essentially be able to come in and do their own thing, without having to worry about naysayers holding them to keeping with a certain "aesthetic." I may not be the fan of six more years of Gaytten, but I can certainly see why it would appeal to the people behind the scenes.

 

[pen6693]

^it's six more seasons.
By six seasons, do they mean the: 2 Couture shows, 2 RTW, 1 Cruise, and 1 Pre-Fall?

 

[Alexei]

I'm so sick of all the back-and-forth and yet I find myself returning to this very thread on a daily basis! This Dior job has become a sick joke, and for the sake of my own sanity, I am taking an indefinite break from this thread.

 

[Scott]

you know a name we never hear being bandied about is bruno pieters? even though i love his new endeavour and likely will never go there,i think bruno has a lot of the qualities to do something like dior and even something like YSL.....he not only had his fledging p-a-p which focused so much on artisanship and very much in vein with what these two houses historically represent but he started his career as an actual couturier. he has the best of both worlds in his arsenal of talent.

 

[Miss Galliano]

Dior will never go far ,the vision is gone ! |Dior can keep Bill gayten 4 ever and the trash couture too