LVMH

If you thought Nicolas Ghesquière would have more time to tend to his new Twitter account now that he's not creative director of a major brand anymore, think again. Word has it the former Balenciaga designer isn't resting on his laurels, and has had offers to finance his own brand from a number of investors.

Alexa, the fashion arm of The New York Post, reports that firms including Li & Fung and Only the Brave (which owns Diesel) have joined LVMH in offering to back a Ghesquière label, despite some analysts commenting that starting a new luxury brand from scratch is a risky proposition.

"Everyone is trying to get him," one source told the magazine. But not everyone has been willing or able to meet Ghesquière's terms, which reportedly include an equity stake in the new venture.

Whenever and however Ghesquière makes his return, he'll likely be welcomed back to the design world with open arms. Karl Lagerfeld said Ghesquière starting his own label "is not a bad idea," and the designer's personal friend Grace Coddington seemed confident he would find his way back into the industry at some point.

"He will bide his time and come back," she said in an interview with The Huffington Post. "He's too brilliant to just disappear. He's very passionate about what he does."

The industry rejoiced today over the news that Riccardo Tisci has extended his contract at Givenchy, but there's no word yet on whether Marc Jacobs has signed on for another stint at Louis Vuitton.

Tisci will continue in his role as Givenchy's creative director for the next three years while the brand "shifts into an expansion mode" that hopes to capitalize on its current popularity. Tisci's wildly salable clothing — like the rottweiler t-shirt from Fall 2011 that became a hit with customers and celebrities alike — are doubtless a part of his staying power at the brand.

In early January, Jacobs mentioned at both the WWD CEO Summit and a talk with Fern Mallis at 92nd Street Y that he and his business partner Marc Duffy were heading to Paris to talk about their contracts with LVMH, which were last renewed at the beginning of 2011. "I'm not really sure," he said when WWD's executive editor Bridget Foley pressed him about specifics at the summit. "I know that we're discussing renegotiations."

There's not much evidence to suggest that Jacobs hasn't signed on the dotted line, although when he talked about his tenure at Louis Vuitton with Mallis, he said, "I've been there for 15 years — though I don't know if I'll be there for 15 more." Jacobs is the only creative director Louis Vuitton has ever had, and it's difficult to imagine what the brand would look like without his aesthetic and elaborate runway staging.

But creative directors — unlike Supreme Court justices or tenured university professors — don't get lifetime appointments. Jacobs was, for a long time, the front-runner for the creative director's chair at Dior, suggesting that he's prepared to leave Vuitton for the right opportunity. But after the Dior talks ended, Jacobs said of his job, "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."

Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

• Next week, Coco Rocha will take over the website and social media channels of Sass & Bide, where she'll share self-styled looks as well as pictures shot with her own camera. [Vogue UK]
• Vivienne Westwood lent the English National Ballet some of her most dramatic gowns for dancers to wear in its new ad campaign. [WWD]
• Not to be outdone by Virgin Airlines' partnership with Banana Republic, American Airlines has enlisted Kaufman Franco to design uniforms for its entire staff. [Styleite]
• Bernard Arnault has moved the bulk of his fortune from France to a private foundation based in Belgium in an attempt to prevent LVMH from breaking up if he dies in the next 10 years. [The Financial Times]
• In time for Valentine's Day, Fleur du Mal is offering custom monogrammed lingerie. [Fashionologie Inbox]
• In a cease-and-desist letter, PETA has asked Bebe to uphold its 2008 decision to stop selling fur. The animal rights organization claims the brand still sells items that include animal skins. [Fashionista]
• Henry Holland says his casual attitude toward his Twitter account aligns with his brand's desire to be "open, inclusive, and something people want to buy into." [Refinery29]
• With Fashion Week right around the corner, Fern Mallis revisits how falling plaster helped the industry organize its shows. [ArtInfo]

Photo via Sass & Bide

Less than a day after PPR announced that Nicolas Ghesquière would leave Balenciaga, there's already talk of where he's headed next.

Suzy Menkes cites "a person in the Paris fashion industry" as saying that LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault has offered Ghesquière his own fashion house. According to Menkes's source, one of Arnault's children (either his daughter, Delphine, or his son Antoine, CEO of the men's brand Berluti) would take over the business side of Ghesquière's brand. Another source called the situation at LVMH "delicate."

In fact, there's some speculation that a delicate situation with PPR management is what caused Ghesquière to leave in the first place. According to WWD, tensions had been rising between the designer and Balenciaga CEO Isabelle Guichot over a "lack of support and funding" and a desire for a more commercial offering. The freedom and resources Hedi Slimane was given when he took over at Balenciaga's sister label Yves Saint Laurent — changing the brand's name and logo, for example — are also said to have contributed to Ghesquière's departure. The Financial Times' Vanessa Friedman points out that after 15 years of service, Ghesquière was only recently allowed to start advertising. Most of his shows have been staged at Balenciaga headquarters "to save money," but Slimane's first show for Saint Laurent was held in Paris's Grand Palais.

Whatever the reason for the split, Guichot says she already has a "short list" of potential candidates to replace Ghesquière — and she wants to hire a new creative director in short order. While she hasn't named names, sources claim Alexander Wang, Joseph Altuzarra, Kostas Murkudis, and Bouchra Jarrar are among the possibilities. PPR is also said to have its eyes on Londoners Mary Katrantzou, Christopher Kane, J.W. Anderson, and Thomas Tait.

"My biggest interest is to focus the organization, accompany the team, and develop the brand potential, so it's in my interest to do it as soon as possible," Guichot said.

If Ghesquière had been unhappy about his departure from the brand, he didn't hint at it in a recent profile featured in Style.com/Print. But in the process of talking about embracing Balenciaga's rich past and trying to move it forward, he does betray a sort of introspection about his work. "Because the house has such a history, I have had to look to the future and respect the past for my own moment," he says. Perhaps his moment is now.

Photo: Ghesquière taking a bow at his Fall 2012 show for Balenciaga.

Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

• "As soon as I met Alexandra, I fell in love with her look and once I heard her sing, I was blown away by her incredible talent," says Erin Fetherston of singer Alexandra McDermott, who will perform at her Spring 2013 presentation and stars in Fetherston's Spring lookbook. [Fashionologie Inbox]
  

• Gucci is sponsoring a tribute to David Bowie's style at London's Victoria and Albert Museum that will open next March. The exhibit, called David Bowie is, will feature over 300 objects, including costumes, handwritten notes, set designs, and album artwork, among other items. [The Daily Telegraph]
  

• Just in time for New York Fashion Week, WWD has released an iPhone app designed to "deliver the news in whatever form our audience needs," says the paper's editor in chief Edward Nardoza. [WWD]
  

• The theme of Tommy Hilfiger's Spring 2013 collection is American optimism. Fitting, as he'll be showing on the same day and at the same time as another big name, Chado Ralph Rucci. [WWD]
  

• H&M will provide a free shuttle service in New York City on Fashion's Night Out. Double-decker buses will pick up and drop off passengers at four locations: 51st Street at Fifth Avenue; 59th Street at Lexington Avenue; Broadway at Prince Street; and 34th Street at Seventh Avenue. [Fashionologie Inbox]
  

• Hermés announced Tuesday that it sued LVMH in July, accusing the luxury conglomerate of insider training and manipulating stock prices in its acquisition of Hermés stock. [Styleite]

Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

• Naomi Campbell celebrated her 42nd birthday in the holy city of Bethlehem, where she lit candles at The Church of the Nativity (built on the location of Jesus's birth). "I'm happy to be here," Campbell told a Palestinian television station. "Weapons and war, greed and oil . . . I hope it all stops. I care about health, about good vibrations, not destruction." [The Associated Press]
  

• The best things in life are free, and that extends to fashion-centric iPhone apps. Among the best new ones are a mobile version of the bookmarking site Svpply and a shoppable street style app called Kaleidoscope. [The High Low]
  

• LVMH will "encourage its more than 90,000 employees to adopt state-of-the-art environmental practice" during its first Green Week, an internal initiative designed to make the company friendlier to the Earth. "This year, LVMH is focusing on techniques to reduce its footprint in water-intensive sectors, including vineyards, cosmetics, and perfumes," the company said. [WWD]
  

• Tom Ford's perfume Violet Blonde was named best Luxe Women's scent at the 2012 FiFi Awards, widely considered the Oscars of the fragrance industry. Ford's Jasmin Rouge scent also won in both the men's and women's Nouveau Niche category. [Fashion Etc.]
  

• Kate Moss was overlooked for a spot on the new walk of fame in her hometown of Croydon, England. Instead, residents of the London suburb have nominated actress Peggy Ashcroft, comedian Ronnie Corbett, and composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, among others, to be honored with life-sized portraits in the center of town. Voting ends on June 16, so perhaps there's time for a write-in campaign? [Stylelist]
  

• Vogue Netherlands is sticking to its practice of casting Dutch models for covers: Guinevere Van Seenus stars on the front of the June issue in a portrait shot by Annemarieke van Drimmelen. [The Fashion Spot]

Photo: Naomi Campbell walks during the 20th Life Ball, an annual AIDS charity event, at Vienna's city hall on May 19, 2012.

Marc Jacobs has had a very busy week: he presented Germany's Design For Tomorrow Award — which honors talented student designers — in Berlin and also took time to reflect on the worldwide presence of his brands in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. Read on for his thoughts on Louis Vuitton, working for Bernard Arnault, and more.

On the difference between Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton: "For me, sexy is not about a tiny waist or a heaving bosom. I suppose Louis Vuitton is more overt as a brand than my collections for my own brand, Marc Jacobs. But when I say Marc Jacobs is not about sex I mean that from a fashion perspective, it's not based on vulgarity."

On working for Arnault: "I've said before that working for Mr. Arnault is like working for the farmer in the movie Babe. I mean, he's never going to jump up and down with exuberance, and the most he can say has often been the equivalent of 'That'll do pig.' But now he does praise me, which is great."

On his aesthetic: "Sometimes I think I'm very old-fashioned in my approach. Where fashion is concerned, I like to tell a story. I don't like anything to be obvious and I think there should always be an element of surprise about the way one dresses."

On moving into China: "When we built the train for my last show, I said to [LVMH CEO Bernard] Arnault, 'If we are going to take anything to China, then this is it.'"
Photo: Marc Jacobs at his Fall 2012 runway show for Louis Vuitton.

>> Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

• Turns out that much-rumored collaboration between Manolo Blahnik and J.Crew isn't going to happen — or at least not this Fall. "Although we were looking forward to the potential collaboration between our two brands, we both came to the conclusion that fall wasn't the right time," a rep for Manolo Blahnik said in an email. "We hope to do something together in the future." [Elle]
  

• Nowness, the online fashion and culture showcase owned by LVMH, debuted a Chinese version yesterday. In a statement, the site's editors said they made the move to capitalize "on China's significant position as a growing luxury market and the importance of digital and social media in the region." [The Wall Street Journal]
  

• Heidi Klum partnered with Babies "R" Us on a line of baby products called Truly Scrumptious. The line includes infant-sized clothing and accessories, but it also extends to furniture, home decor, and bedding for the under-5 set. [LilSugar]
  

• Christian Louboutin will collaborate with Disney when he creates a real-life version of Cinderella's famous glass slippers this Summer, commemorating the release of Cinderella on DVD this Fall. "I have been so lucky to have crossed paths with Cinderella, an icon who is so emblematic to the shoe world as well as the dream world," Louboutin said. [The Huffington Post]
  

• Calvin Klein's on-and-off boyfriend Nick Gruber reportedly left his New York penthouse for a stint at an undisclosed rehabilitation clinic on Wednesday. Sources saw Gruber, who was arrested for cocaine possession earlier this week, leaving his apartment with a wheelie suitcase and overheard him talking about the trip. [The Cut]

  Photo: Models wearing Manolo Blahnik shoes during J.Crew's Fall 2012 presentation.

>> After over a year of searching for a creative director to replace John Galliano, Dior has finally selected Raf Simons to lead the storied French fashion house.

Simons, who was recently ousted from the director's chair at Jil Sander, will pick up the reins at Dior this week. The house will make the official announcement on Wednesday, and Simons will present his first collection for the brand in July during Paris's Fall 2012 haute couture shows.

Simons's selection makes sense — his final collection for Jil Sander featured clothing that experimented with couture techniques and drew on midcentury silhouettes, rendered in Dior's signature reds, beiges, and pale pinks. It lent credence to the idea that Simons was auditioning for the role — or was at least being considered for it — but media speculation pointed more directly at other designers, like Marc Jacobs and Haider Ackermann.

But Simons will be a fresh start for a house that for a long time was led by a isolated artist. Cathy Horyn noted that Simons is the opposite of Galliano in his approach to creating fashion — an idea the designer echoes. "I'm someone who takes responsibility," he said. "I'm not an isolated person. The more I connect to people, the more I have the feeling that things work."

The job became available in March 2011, when longtime Dior creative director John Galliano was fired for making a string of anti-Semitic remarks in public. Bill Gaytten, Dior's studio director, has been filling in for Galliano in the interim. But Simons wasn't a candidate until October or November of last year, when he began meeting with Dior CEO Sidney Toledano and LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault about the job.

Simons hasn't started designing his first collection for Dior yet, but he said he is looking forward to the challenge of interpreting the house's history for the 21st century.

"Mr. Dior was very innovative during a short time span. And it was in the middle of the 20th century, a period I am very interested in, whether it’s linked to fashion, architecture or art," he said.