Nicolas Ghesquière

>> A couple of weeks after rumors popped up suggesting that Marc Jacobs was at the top of the pack to take over as Dior's new designer, reports corroborate that the rumors just might be true.

According to WWD, Bernard Arnault is in talks with Jacobs about moving from Louis Vuitton to Dior, and meetings have reportedly been scheduled in Paris this week between Dior officials and legal representatives for Jacobs. Jacobs, who signed on as Vuitton's artistic director in 1997, has been in the midst of renewing his employment contract at Vuitton, but those discussions are said to have been put on hold, pending the outcome of Jacobs's discussions with Dior.

One source cautioned WWD that deal with Jacobs is not done, but both the designer and Dior management are so far "excited" about the prospect. If the deal goes through, Jacobs will get his first opportunity as a couturier, and his business partner Robert Duffy would come with him. Dior declined to comment on the reports, and Jacobs could not be reached for comment.

As for who would replace Jacobs at Vuitton, it sounds like Phoebe Philo could be first in line. LVMH has already reportedly held preliminary discussions with Philo, who is said to be "intrigued" by the project. If the shuffling plays out, it's reportedly likely she would design Vuitton in addition to Celine.

WWD reports that a number of potential candidates have been approached to succeed John Galliano, who exited Dior in March, including Alber Elbaz, Nicolas Ghesquière, Sarah Burton, Haider Ackermann and Hedi Slimane. Elbaz and Ghesquiere, who both have equity stakes in and strong commitments to the houses they design for, have withdrawn themselves from the running, and Burton is said to have rebuffed overtures. Talks with Ackermann and Slimane, meanwhile, did not end in an agreement. As for Riccardo Tisci, he is still considered a dark-horse candidate, and has been championed by Delphine Arnault, Dior deputy managing director and Bernard Arnault's daughter.

>> Those flat Balenciaga biker boots that have been so popular? Without them, according to Nicolas Ghesquiere, there wouldn't have been a Gisele Bundchen moment on the Spring 2011 Balenciaga runway: "The idea was to have this crazy casting with Gisele and Amber Valletta and Carolyn [Murphy], and they said no for high heels. They were not used to walking with heels anymore. Gisele was worried; she would not walk with my heels ... I was already thinking flats and I was already preparing the flat shoes."

Another defining Balenciaga moment that almost was not? The ever-popular, 11-year-old Lariat bag. "The group that owned Balenciaga in the old times — licensing blah, blah, blah — they heard that accessories were hot and they asked me, ‘Would you do a few bags with a license? We think it could make a little business,’" Ghesquiere says. "And we did this prototype and nobody cared; we had a couple of prototypes for a year."

One of those prototypes was the Lariat, he confirms: "Every girl who was walking [the show], including Kate [Moss] came in and was like, ‘What is that? Is it vintage? Is it something that you found at the flea market?’ I was like ‘No, it’s a handbag that we prototyped but just didn’t produce.’ We didn’t produce it because I think when I showed the prototype to the people who asked me to do it, they weren’t happy with it ... Accessories [at the time] were rigid. Luxury leather, especially, was about rigidity. So they were not really happy, and they decided not to produce it. Then when it was in the studio and the models noticed it, I said, ‘I think we should just do 25. Let me just give them to the girls because at least some people will be happy.’ And that product started from a very, very fashion point of view [and extended] to a very, very large, global audience."

>> Last May, when Balenciaga severed its 12-year relationship with public relations firm PR Consulting, rumors circulated that it was the result of a Balenciaga designer leaving to work for one of the firm's other clients and that some of the client's designs were too similar to Balenciaga. Now, WSJ. reports that insiders at PPR say Nicolas Ghesquiere felt slighted by the attention Pierre Rougier was giving to Versace, his newest client, at the Costume Institute gala last year. It's worth noting the decision to drop PR Consulting was made within two weeks of the gala at the beginning of May.

At the time of the severance, Rougier said: “It’s been a wonderful 12-year adventure with Balenciaga and I really wish Nicolas and Balenciaga all the best and lots of luck going forward. It’s been really great and I really don’t want it to seem any other way.” And now, he tells WSJ. simply, "I love Nicolas."

Post-Balenciaga, Rougier seems to be doing fine. Alongside Versace, he counts among his clients Yves Saint Laurent, Jil Sander, Dries Van Noten, and Proenza Schouler. He is "notoriously picky about whom he takes on," according to the WSJ., and "can lift a brand to another level . . . his job is to keep the Americans, whose critical opinions drive international buying trends, in line."

Vera Wang president Mario Grauso avers this fact — one of the first things he did when joining Wang a year and a half ago was hire Rougier: "Vera had gone dark — hadn't done enough media, wasn't dressing celebrities. Pierre helped me change that. We [at Vera Wang] can veer a little too mainstream, a little too bridal-y. I wanted to be edgier and Pierre knew how to do that." Grauso also credits Rougier with bringing top European press to Wang's shows, admitting it's "something we couldn't do without him."

But cultivating brands isn't all Rougier aspires to — apparently he wants to get more involved with advising the venture capital and investment side of fashion, WSJ. reports: "Too many backers choose the wrong horse in the race, he says, and then are flummoxed when throwing money at the problem doesn't solve it."

• Carine Roitfeld and Nicolas Ghesquiere, who were rumored to have reconciled after being spotted having a cocktail together last week, were spotted having a drink again today at the Ritz Paris [@derekblasberg]
• Lea T. is reportedly taping her Oprah segment next week after opening the show of a "major swimsuit house" at Sao Paulo Fashion Week [@JasonFarrer]
• Chanel’s global creative director of makeup Peter Philips animated Chanel lipsticks, compacts, and glosses to make a robot, a model, and more in this fun short film (still, left) [Nowness]
• Thakoon.com is relaunching February 14, complete with “webisodes” that follow Thakoon Panichgul through his daily life working in the studio, prepping a photo shoot, or attending an awards ceremony; e-commerce is expected to launch in July [Style File]
• Watch Karlie Kloss get flames put on her eyes and white paint all over her lower legs for the Dior couture show [The Cut]
• Style Bubble's Susanna Lau says she “definitely” has the opportunity to make more money with her blog alone than when she was working 12 hours a day as DazedDigital.com's commissioning editor: “Each day I’m sort of dividing my time between four or five different things. The result of that is that you are gong to be getting more money than you are with a fixed wage at an independent publishing company” [BoF]
• Missoni heir Jennifer Missoni has a three episode arc on Gossip Girl starting next month, in which she plays Donna, a character “very serious about her job." Note that Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester is a current face of Missoni [Fashionista]
• Richard Nicoll responds to Cerruti closing its womenswear line, which he designed: "Of course I would have preferred longer to make a success of the womenswear, but I'm grateful for the experience gained at Cerruti. It makes total sense to me that Li & Fung should focus solely on menswear as that's where their experience lies" [Vogue UK]
• As part of the continuing CFDA Health Initiative, Diane von Furstenberg writes in a new op-ed, "Plans for education and awareness programs are under way, such as an Ambassador Program aimed at helping young models develop the tools to meet the challenges they face" [CFDA]
• A French version of Harper's Bazaar is said to be on the horizon [DFR]
• Miu Miu has tapped several notable female filmmakers for a new short film series called "Women's Tales," exploring the female love affair with Miu Miu; first director up is Zoe Cassavetes — preview of her short at the link [Fashionista]
• Apparently there's an unfounded rumor going around Europe that Tom Ford is set to succeed Giorgio Armani [@jcreportglobal]

>> It's been almost a year since Balenciaga banned Carine Roitfeld and the entire Vogue Paris team from attending its shows and pulled advertising from the magazine — reportedly over some issues related to Balenciaga's samples — but it seems that Roitfeld and Nicolas Ghesquiere may have reconciled. They were spotted having drinks at L'Hotel together last Wednesday. [DFR]

>> Balenciaga is amping up its presence in the US, an important market for the house, with the hire of Katherine Ross — "known for her brainy approach and art-world ties during stints at Prada and LVMH," WWD reports — as consultant.

While Nicolas Ghesquiere said he and Ross have no concrete plans yet, he hopes to do more events or special projects that could have artistic or historical angles stateside: “I’m questioning if there is a new way of communicating about a fashion brand. It could be an art proposal, it could be a movie. [The scope] is very open, very large.”

Ross echoed: “Balenciaga is poised for significant growth and increased recognition in the U.S.” When prompted on whether that meant Balenciaga might return to the New York runways, Ghesquiere said, "Why not," but stressed that for now, he's staying on the Paris show calendar. Fashionista suggests that he might be more open to showing a Resort collection in New York, like Stefano Pilati did with Yves Saint Laurent last Resort season, than a Spring/Summer or Fall/Winter main collection.