Cathy Horyn

>> Earlier this week came reports that this season — Fall 2011 — may be Hannah MacGibbon's last for Chloe. And although the label denied it, Cathy Horyn writes: "I feel sorry for Hannah MacGibbon of Chloé. No, she did not have a good collection — too much snakeskin, poor styling, no standout accessories. Reports are that her contract has not been renewed. But a year ago, Ms. MacGibbon was a hit maker and women were again craving Chloé. Maybe the firing last summer of her boss, Ralph Toledano, led to changes that affected her. I don’t know. But knowing what she was able to accomplish in the past, with help, it’s hard to hold her solely to blame for what appeared on the Chloé runway." [NY Times]

>> In recent years, Haider Ackermann's name has been thrown around as a potential successor for Martin Margiela, Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, John Galliano at Christian Dior, and Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy. But is he prepared for a leap to a major design house? A couple of years ago when he was offered the Margiela job, Ackermann's backer seemed to question just that — she says she asked him, "But can you cope with a big house? Here it is very protective. If you scream, I am there to support you." He didn't take the Margiela position. And of Ackermann attending Chanel's show yesterday, Cathy Horyn writes, "[His] arrival drew notice. Designers are often invited to shows, but Mr. Ackermann is being mentioned as a possible choice for Dior. This suggestion completely flies in the face of the realities of big brands, and instead of dealing with the issue of pressures within these companies, it serves to throw another unprepared designer into that situation." [NY Times]

>> Over the weekend, reports surfaced that Kate Middleton has chosen Alexander McQueen creative director Sarah Burton to do her wedding dress. Burton was reportedly picked for her relatively low profile and her alternative take on elegance; Burton's work is said to have first caught Middleton's eye after she designed an off-the-shoulder wedding dress for Harper's Bazaar's Sara Buys, who married Camilla Parker Bowles's son Tom in 2005.

Work on the royal wedding dress is said to be well under way in Buckingham Palace, and the designer of choice has been sworn to secrecy. So it comes as no surprise that when questioned, Burton replied, "I am not doing it." McQueen CEO Jonathan Akeroyd, who reportedly told a colleague that Burton had been chosen, also denied the reports: "No, not at all. I am the CEO. I would know if we were doing it."

Cathy Horyn notes, however: "It wouldn’t at all surprising if the house and its creative director, Sarah Burton, had been chosen. I’m only musing, but a McQueen dress, in view of the late designer’s fascination with British history, makes a lot of sense. It also seems a good generational choice. And the studio, now expertly led by Ms. Burton, has the skills and resources to make a custom dress."

>> Christophe Decarnin showed a new, more "subdued" Balmain collection, according to Cathy Horyn, today for Fall 2011 — which could be in part because Emmanuelle Alt is no longer the show's stylist and Melanie Ward took her place this season. But more curious: Decarnin skipped his final bow and was a no-show backstage. "He's tired after working on the collection. He's not here. He's resting," said a Balmain spokesman. And it seems that Nicolas Ghesquiere and Carine Roitfeld have officially made up — she attended the show today, Tommy Ton tweets: "Just spotted Carine leaving Balenciaga slyly avoiding the paps." [@MeenalMistry, @HilaryAlexander, @JakandJilBlog]

>> In her story on John Galliano yesterday, Cathy Horyn wrote of the designer, "In his knowledge of fashion, he was rivaled only by Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel . . ." Spurred by rivalry or not, Lagerfeld has come out completely clear about his thoughts on the Galliano scandal — and these aren't words of support.

“I’m furious, if you want to know," Lagerfeld told WWD. "I’m furious that it could happen, because the question is no longer even whether he really said it. The image has gone around the world. It’s a horrible image for fashion, because they think that every designer and everything in fashion is like this. This is what makes me crazy in that story."

Lagerfeld continues: "The thing is, we are a business world where, especially today, with the Internet, one has to be more careful than ever, especially if you are a publicly known person. You cannot go in the street and be drunk — there are things you cannot do. I’m furious with him because of the harm he did to LVMH and [chairman and CEO] Bernard Arnault, who is a friend, and who supported him more than he supported any other designer in his group, because Dior is his favorite label. It’s as if he had his child hurt.”

Insiders confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that Dior has always been Arnault's pet project — it was the first fashion house he bought when getting into the luxury industry in the '80s — despite the fact that the label didn't begin to turn a profit until 2002 (Galliano joined as creative director in 1996). He has continued to pour money into the brand, which still struggled to improve its bottom line under Galliano: its current sales of €826 million ($1.14 billion) and operating margin of 4.2 percent lag far behind that of LVMH's crown jewel Louis Vuitton, with its estimated €5.5 billion in sales and 45 percent operating margin.

>> She didn't name names, but it was fairly clear that Franca Sozzani, in a blog post last month, was criticizing one of Carine Roitfeld's last issues of Vogue Paris — the December Tom Ford guest-edited issue. In a more recent interview, Sozzani said, “Honestly, I don’t think a stylist has a vision for a magazine.” Both Roitfeld and her fashion director — and now new Vogue Paris editor — Emmanuelle Alt are stylists.

Sozzani wasn't the only one who wasn't feeling that Tom Ford-edited December issue — people in Paris speculated, Cathy Horyn reports, that it triggered Roitfeld's undoing. Roitfeld last month told Horyn that her bosses received complaints from advertisers over the Ford issue. “I was killed for that,” Roitfeld added. “You know, it’s difficult to try to do something new each month.”

According to several close to the matter, Roitfeld offered to resign when the issue of her management came under question (she was frequently out of the office on shoots). She could have been bluffing, but her resignation was accepted. When asked whether her frequent office absence was a contributing factor, Roitfeld admitted: “Maybe, maybe. Everybody has an opinion. Before, it wasn’t a problem, and anyway the magazine was doing very well. It’s difficult to work with a big team. Maybe it’s good I go back to my roots.”

But she says she doesn't regret resigning: "I’m very sad, but in a way I’m very happy, too. I don’t want to get old in this golden cage. I’m very punk in a way.”

Apparently she and Alt no longer speak, however, and neither would say why. Alt, who is attending New York Fashion Week for the first time in years, notes: “I don’t look back and see clouds anywhere. Carine is someone who needs to be free. She’s the rebel of the class. She hates authority. She dealt with it for years but . . . ” The magazine was profitable and experienced a 40 percent leap in circulation under Roitfeld's tenure.

>> Vogue contributor Amanda Brooks was named Barneys' new fashion director, vice president succeeding Julie Gilhart last Friday and she starts in the role on Monday without much retail experience in her pocket (she was most recently director of fashion at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, and in the past, a creative director at Hogan and Tuleh). But, when Barneys CEO Mark Lee was asked about his decision to hire Brooks and Dennis Freedman, former longtime W creative director, who also doesn't have a strong retail background, Cathy Horyn reports: "Mr. Lee said that Ms. Brooks brought a diverse background, as an editor, stylist and brand developer, to her post. 'We didn’t need more retail help,' he said. As for Mr. Freedman, Mr. Lee said, 'Great creativity is hard to find,' and that Barneys can benefit from Mr. Freedman’s ideas and knowledge of the worlds of art, design and architecture." [On the Runway]

• Kmart wants to bring sexy back by signing Sofia Vergara — WWD
• Keira Knightley gets nervous at Chanel — FabSugar UK
• Jessica Alba shops in style — Teen Vogue
• Helena Bonham Carter talks breaking fashion rules — People
• Don't expect to see a Prada H&M or Topshop collaboration any time soon — Vogue UK
• Marc Jacobs small beach bag: lust at first sight — Bag Snob
• Cathy Horyn actually liked Armani Privé's Couture show — The Cut
• By next Winter, you'll be able to shop H&M in your PJs — Racked
• Faux-fur coat: piece we're coveting — Lucky
• Paint —or feather or chain— it black: Roger Vivier Rendezvous rocks out — Vogue Daily

>> After Karl Lagerfeld sent out a Chanel couture collection of muted pastels yesterday, with nothing but flat patent mules on the models' feet, he told Style.com: "I was sick of all those Eiffel Towers, sick of all those violent colors." He later told Cathy Horyn of the collection, she writes: “'There’s no flower design.' This is a little like Eve ignoring the apple, but I guess he didn’t think this was a moment for Chanel flowers. 'I don’t think it’s very modern,' he said." [Style.com, On the Runway]