alber elbaz

>> Karl Lagerfeld, in New York to launch his Macy's collection, talked with Style.com about fashion's notorious vices, but maintained: "I never smoke, I never take drugs, I’m never drunk, because I like only what I’m doing — work, reading, learning, sketching, taking photos. For the rest, my lack of passion or interest for this kind of thing makes it perhaps too easy for me to judge others. I’m surrounded by people who drink and take drugs. It doesn’t bother me at all, even when I know it’s bad for them. I’m not teaching them."

Alber Elbaz, too, over the weekend, broached the subject of drugs: "I don't understand this marathon of fashion. Today, designers are expected to produce work that is bigger, better, faster and — these days — cheaper. A singer can quit once he or she has made ten great songs, a director can finish once he or she has made five amazing films, a writer just needs to write three great books. Now let's look at designers — they produce six to eight shows a year, most designers have a 20-year-long career, so I need to create about 250 collections in that time. Not even Danielle Steel could write 250 books.

Elbaz continued: "You start to understand why some designers do strange things, why some designers talk to themselves, you have to find a way of dealing with it all. I don't take drugs because if I did I'd love them — I'd be a junkie. And because I'm Jewish, I'd probably be a dealer too," he joked. "I don't go out to parties because I'd look terrible in pictures. My escape is television — it's like meditation to me."

>> 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.

>> Tilda Swinton has played muse for Viktor & Rolf and Haider Ackermann — she met both, as well as Alber Elbaz, Stefano Pilati, Phoebe Philo, and Raf Simons (who designed her wardrobe for the 2010 film I Am Love) — through her close friend Jerry Stafford, the creative director of a French production company, who she works with in place of a stylist. “He’s my playmate,” she says. “It’s a game, and we have great fun with it.”

Swinton cites David Bowie and her father, Major General Sir John Swinton, as her style icons, and says of working with friends on what she wears for the red carpet: “For someone to know what you need to make you comfortable, they need to know who you are. Having them make clothes for me is like being cooked for by someone who knows what you like to eat.”

For the one-sleeve black Lanvin sheath she wore to the 2008 Oscars, for instance, she told Elbaz she wanted “to attract as little attention as possible and to feel as comfortable as if I were wearing pajamas. Little did I know that the really simple, chic dress one might have worn in Paris or Berlin would stick out like a sore thumb in Los Angeles.”

Stafford also creative directed Swinton's cover story for the August 2011 issue of W (left) — together they created a mood board for the shoot.

>> LVMH is taking its time with the announcement of Dior's new designer, and it sounds like the decision still has yet to be made. At a recent shareholders' meeting, Bernard Arnault said the plan was to interview a number of candidates before making the call when "conviction" arrives.

But who's reportedly on the short list of candidates Bernard Arnault's advisors have submitted? Tom Ford, Hedi Slimane, Olivier Theyskens, Nicholas Ghesquiere, Alber Elbaz, Haider Ackermann, Prabal Gurung, and Sarah Burton. However, a source in Paris told WWD that LVMH is placing less importance on marquee names and focusing rather on “someone who understands Dior and fits the needs of the company.”

While Arnault, chairman of the board at Dior, is sure to get the final say on the appointee, Dior CEO Sidney Toledano, who has helmed the company since 1998, and Delphine Arnault (Bernard's daughter), deputing managing director at Dior and widely viewed as the eventual LVMH heir apparent, are also expected to weigh in. Apparently Dior execs are also receiving unsolicited designer suggestions from top editors and even shareholders.

Delphine, for her part, is seen as a champion of Riccardo Tisci; the Givenchy designer has reportedly been lobbying for the position as well, sketching out his vision for the brand. Bernard Arnault, meanwhile, is reportedly transfixed by royalty, and if Sarah Burton does dress Kate Middleton for her wedding at the end of the month (despite Burton's and the McQueen company's denials), she may pull ahead in the race. Arnault would be keen to launch the new Dior alongside the newly-married couple; Princess Diana, after all, helped catapult the brand's image in 1995 when she wore a Lady Dior bag and then in 1996 when she wore a midnight blue, bias-cut Dior gown by John Galliano to the Costume Institute Gala.

In the meantime, design duties are falling on Dior's in-house design studios, headed by Bill Gaytten, who has worked beside Galliano since the '80s. They're already creating the Cruise 2012 collection and have started in on the upcoming Fall 2011 couture collection, in preparation for its debut in July.

• Feeling feline: cat-eye sunglasses — Vogue Daily
• Is it Alber Elbaz or Riccardo Tisci for Dior? — FabSugarUK
• Alice Temperley marks her 10th anniversary with a coffee table book — Vogue UK Daily
• Before and after: Giles Deacon — Interview
• The complicated politics of wearing Dior — Jezebel
• Sarah Burton wins raves for her second Alexander McQueen collection — The Cut
• Lanvin Dear Denae shoulder bag: fussy and fun? — Bag Snob
• Marc by Marc Jacobs launches limited-edition capsule collection — People StyleWatch
• Alexander McQueen shoes: the new collection — InStyle

>> Just yesterday, it was reported that Alber Elbaz is under contract at Lanvin and not currently interested in leaving, but last night, Style.com tweeted, "Not to add to the Dior rumor mill, but people in Paris are asking, why has the Lanvin team been in tears all day?" And if Elbaz is leaving for Dior, does that mean Jason Wu might be in at Lanvin? WWD did report: "The sighting of Jason Wu front row at the Lanvin show on Friday sure sent tongues a-wagging. 'I’m here for my first Lanvin show, Mrs. Wang invited me,' said the designer, referring to the house’s owner, Taiwanese publishing magnate Shaw-Lan Wang." [@styledotcom, WWD]