Galliano Still In Business, For Nowt

By Jenna Sauers  |  March 8, 2011 | 5:55pm
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The question of who will replace disgraced total-Nazi designer John Galliano at Christian Dior has tongues wagging all over the industry. (But then again, when are fashion people ever not gossiping about something?) But two of the alleged front-runners are tight-lipped. Riccardo Tisci, when asked after his Givenchy show about the rumors that he is in line to become the next Dior creative director, would say only, “I felt this was a strong, positive season. And I’m happy at Givenchy.” [Style.com]
Haider Ackermann, another designer — one from outside the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy fold — said to be in the running for the Dior gig, said cryptically when asked if he’d go to another house, “Yes, you have to find the right person and look in the same direction; it’s like a love affair. It has to be a coup de foudre on both sides. You know, sometimes you have a repertoire of your own, and sometimes you have something else to express and the code of another house may help. I don’t know. We’ll see.” Ackermann said that he turned down the opportunity to take over Maison Martin Margiela in 2009, because “Martin is my hero, so it’s a soul and souls are not replaceable. But yes there are places I would like to go and that I might go.” [Telegraph]
Then there’s this, from Style.com’s Twitter feed: “Not to add to the Dior rumor mill, but people in Paris are asking, why has the Lanvin team been in tears all day?” Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz is another name that’s been widely touted as a Galliano successor. [@styledotcom]
Earlier: We introduced you to some of the designers who are still in the running towards becoming fashion’s next top John Galliano
Meanwhile, Sidney Toledano, the C.E.O. of Dior, confirmed that LVMH is still backing the John Galliano signature label — for now. LVMH owns 92% of the John Galliano brand. It’s common for major luxury companies to back the namesake lines of the designers who toil as creative directors of their flagship brands (see: LVMH investing in Marc Jacobs when Jacobs signed on as the creative director of Louis Vuitton) as a reward for loyal service — whether or not those namesake lines, which are often lower in profile than the flagship brands, actually make money. (The John Galliano brand is said to “barely break even.”) Toledano attended the Galliano show in Paris on Sunday, and he said, “For the moment, the [Galliano] business continues. This is a business which has licenses and tomorrow we will show the collection in the showrooms as usual . . . I am here to prove that business goes on . . . and to support the teams.” Not a ringing endorsement, exactly, but then again, this is an industry where maybe money resounds even more loudly than saying “I love Hitler.” [WSJ]
One of the models at the Galliano show had a small Star of David tattoo on her arm. [Fashionista]

Remember when Keira Knightley rode a beige Ducati motorcycle around the streets of Paris, dressed in a beige leather motorcycle suit, like the mother-of-the-bride version of Beatrix Kiddo? Well, now the Chanel perfume ad she was shooting is out. You can’t actually see the bike. [Catwalk Queek]

An old Jennifer Aniston photo shoot was recycled for a new cover of French Glamour. [TLF]

  • “Thank you for this wonderful bar mitzvah, Mom,” joked Michael Kors at his lavish store opening/30th Anniversary dinner party in Paris. Later, reports the Times Eric Wilson, “waiters set out the desserts at each of the place settings along two tables that ran the entire length of the tent. But most of the guests were leaving by that point, and shortly before midnight, there was only one person, sitting alone, at a large expanse of table, tucking a fork into a piece of chocolate cake. ‘I couldn’t let it go to waste,’ said Jeanne Beker, a reporter from Fashion Television. ‘They’re just going to throw it all away. Fashion people!’” Indeed. [On The Runway]
  • Mary J. Blige performed at the Kors event, and the photo editors at the New York Post were eventually good enough to even run a file picture of Blige with their story — when this item originally went up, the picture was of Keri Hilson. [P6]
  • Headline of the day: “Alexander Wang Deigns To Shop With Minions.” [WWD]
  • London area thrifters, take note: Amy Winehouse has reportedly donated £20,000 worth of designer clothes, including Alexander McQueen (wow) and Luella Bartley (meh), to a charity shop in north London. Says the requisite tabloid source: “You’d imagine half of it would be covered in fag burns and smell of wild nights out but it was all in tip-top condition. Amy was joking with the shop girls that she has become addicted to cleaning.” Winehouse is having a clean-out and promised to donate some more. [Sun]
  • Lily Allen says Karl Lagerfeld is making her wedding dress. [WWD]
  • Here are two pictures of Kelly Osbourne posing in front of a fake “gritty” background in an empty studio, looking bored. [Material Girl]
  • When Kelly Cutrone — the fashion publicist and best-selling author — met Chris Burch — the investor and president of his ex-wife, Tory‘s, fashion company — neither knew who the other was. Now, they will be making beautiful money together, with a new brand called Electric Light Army. In stores February 2012. [WWD]
  • Lion King superfangirl Blake Lively went shoe-shopping with Christian Louboutin. [Daily Mail]
  • Natalia Vodianova ran a half-marathon in Paris for charity, walked in the Givenchy show, and then sat front-row at Stella McCartney with her three adorable children. Sickening, isn’t it? [Daily Mail]
  • Backstage at her show, Stella McCartney told Hilary Alexander of the Telegraph that she is not interested in having any more children. (She and husband Alasdhair Willis presently have four.) [Telegraph]
  • The top five models of Milan fashion week: All white. Unsurprisingly. [WWD]
  • Buried in this tedious blog post about how to achieve a stupid runway makeup look that is patently not intended for mass consumption (“…and elongated the brow in a straight line, removing any natural arch”) is a tidbit about model Siri Tollerod, who is releasing a line of lipsticks called Siri for Zanzuel that can be used on the eyes, lips, and cheeks. [Elle]
  • In other model makeup news, Lindsay Wixson Tweeted that she had to leave Paris because of “an allergic reaction to the make-up from the day before.” The last show Wixson walked in? Viktor & Rolf, for which her entire face was painted red. This means the Kansas teen missed or will miss Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, among other top shows. [@Lndsywixson]
  • The $2.86 billion leveraged buy-out of J. Crew is complete. The company has now entered the financial-reporting twilight of private ownership. [WWD]
  • The stylist Alex White has started a blog. [Alex White Edits]
  • Ladies! Today is International Women’s Day. In case you’re not already celebrating by making your husband a sandwich and/or getting vajazzled, you may want to consider perusing this IWD gift guide, full of gifts made by female entrepreneurs from around the world. [AHALife]

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