Olivier Theyskens

>> INSIDER WIRE —It sounds like Olivier Theyskens won't be heading to Schiaparelli after all: the label's owner, Diego Della Valle, now says he doesn't plan to revive the house before 2011; originally he was aiming for 2010.  It's doubtful that Theyskens would want to wait two years before his next runway show, and Della Valle verifies that no designer has been chosen to head up Schiaparelli. “This is not the right time . . . I hope that markets will have stabilized when we are ready for Schiaparelli." [WWD]

>> INSIDER WIRE —Spokespeople at Chanel and Lanvin promptly denied Friday's rumor that Karl Lagerfeld might be exiting Chanel, with Alber Elbaz taking his place and Olivier Theyskens taking over at Lanvin, but over the weekend, Style.com's Derek Blasberg, who was in Venice for the Biennale with a number of fashion insiders, tweeted: "Hold up now, y´all. Word on the street here in Venice is that maybe some of this fashion designer shuffling is true." [The Cut, Derek Blasberg Twitter]

>> While Karl Lagerfeld is preparing for the Chanel Fall 2009 couture show on July 7 — which he plans to hold at sunset in the Grand Palais — rumors are swirling about his future at the company. Although he has said in the past that he doesn't plan to retire, it's circling that he will not renew his contract at Chanel, that Alber Elbaz will take his place, and Olivier Theyskens will take Alber's place at Lanvin.

Diane Pernet says both choices "make perfect sense" to her, but why would Alber, who has brought Lanvin profit through wearable clothes, be replaced with Olivier Theyskens, who is hardly known for wearable designs?  Anna Wintour is close friends with Karl Lagerfeld — but close enough to convince him to step down so she can find placement for Olivier Theyskens?

Diane also adds that she heard that Schiaparelli, which is expected to relaunch next year at earliest, has decided to switch directions and focus on a less expensive line.

>> INSIDER WIRE —Peter Copping is busy preparing his first collection for Nina Ricci — a capsule resort collection, which is expected to be unveiled later this month — and in the meantime, the house is trying to clear out all trace of Olivier Theyskens.  On Friday, its holding a major one-off sale in Paris, with catwalk pieces and ready-to-wear spanning several seasons, as well as shoes and accessories going for as little as 40 euros ($55). [WWD]

>> Despite screening in January at the Sundance Film Festival, details on Vogue documentary The September Issue — with the exception of a short clip — have been kept largely under wraps. A group of British fashion insiders who have seen the 90-minute special are under strict embargo not to discuss it until it is screened at the Edinburgh festival on June 22, and the movie doesn't hit theaters until September 11, but Fashion Week Daily got their hands on a screener and has plenty of details on the film, which features Anna Wintour, the "pope" as Style.com's Candy Pratts Price calls her, and creative director Grace Coddington, or "without question, the greatest living stylist there is," according to fashion news and features director Sally Singer.  The highlights, as relayed by FWD:

Anna's apparently not a fan of black . . .

"I wonder if Anna would like this one?" Grace Coddington muses, flipping through pieces. "It's black," someone points out. "That's true," Grace says. "You'd get fired for that."

. . . And perhaps not Stefano Pilati, either?

We watch her drop in for walk-through with Karl Lagerfeld and Stefano Pilati, with whom she is surprisingly (not so surprisingly?) short. What, no color in this collection, Stefano? No evening?

But she pushes for more Olivier Theyskens/Nina Ricci representation in the magazine.

Mario [Testino]'s film from the cover shoots comes back, and Anna is not pleased. There aren't enough clothes, there isn't enough Nina Ricci, and where are the Colosseum shots? She looks through the cover options, and leaves a note on one, where Sienna [Miller] is flashing a grin: "like this best, but teeth."

Terrorizing assistants, angering Grace, and what's next for Bee . . . »

>> Despite the supposed lobbying of Anna Wintour herself, Olivier Theyskens won't be taking a post stateside — not at Halston, anyway.

Fashion Week Daily reports that the brand has no immediate plans to hire Theyskens, citing a "well-placed source" with knowledge of Halston's creative director search: "Olivier [as creative director at Halston] will never, ever happen.  It's no secret that [the brand] is struggling — they need a designer who can sell lots and lots of clothes, not just get great press."

Great press but not-so-great sales describes Theyskens in a nutshell with regards to his past two posts at Nina Ricci and Rochas, but maybe Schiaparelli or his own label will work out?  As for Halston, so far the label has allegedly approached several European designers — including Marios Schwab — as well as Narciso Rodriguez for the creative director role, but it sounds like none have panned out so far.
*image: source

>> INSIDER WIRE —Olivier Theyskens may come off as delicate, but at a Costume Institute Gala after-party Monday, he revealed his subversive streak: "The parties tonight are great, but they don't compare to three days ago, when I sat by the Seine on my own and smoked cigarillos. It's my favorite thing in the world. I smoke this brand La Paz — they're cheap but it's what I always buy. And then, I peed into the Seine. It's the best thing I did all week." [Hint]
*image: source

>> INSIDER WIRE —Hamish Bowles, who accompanied Marisa Bensen to Monday's Costume Institute Gala, crowned Shalom Harlow his favorite of the night and in the meantime set the record straight on her showstopper of an outfit: "the golden apple would have to be presented to Shalom Harlow, wearing a billowing black taffeta domino created by Bob Mackie in the eighties, over Olivier Theyskens’s black and scarlet beaded catsuit for [Nina] Ricci." [The Hamishsphere]

>> After a manicure yesterday and another round of rumors about his future placement, Olivier Theyskens turned up on the Costume Institute gala red carpet with Lou Doillon in Nina Ricci on his arm.  So what does he have to say about the possibility of an Anna Wintour-orchestrated takeover at Halston? “Oh God. These are rumors.”  When further prodded, he started laughing: "These rumors — I have to live with that.”  But there's no outright denial, it just sounds like he's still weighing his options. “Oh, this I don’t know. Really. It’s really something I don’t know.”

Down the way, Andre Leon Talley — who is usually outspoken about who he wants to work with for the red carpet (this time around he was in pursuit of Marisa Tomei), but after a very public misstep or two, he seems to have reconsidered on stamping his name on specific looks: "I gave a lot of advice to a lot of people, but they shall remain nameless because they don’t want me to say who I’m giving advice to."  Does that mean Anna Wintour doesn't want him connected as a stylist to certain looks?  Or that the people he dressed didn't want to be connected with him?