Since the swift dismissal of creative director John Galliano in March, rumors about who would succeed him at Dior have been tossed around on a near-constant basis.
The latest development, however, comes from industry authority WWD, which published a report this morning claiming that, according to unnamed sources, talks concerning star designer Marc Jacobs' potential transfer to Dior had gotten quite serious.
According to WWD, LVMH head Bernard Arnault was meeting with Jacobs in Paris to discuss moving him within the parent company, from Louis Vuitton to the vacant top spot at Dior. In turn, the daily also reports that "it is understood" that Celine designer Phoebe Philo is next in line to replace Jacobs at Louis Vuitton. Neither LVMH or the designers' camps commented on the speculation.
If true, the potential shuffle would certainly provide excitement during the upcoming fashion week proceedings starting next month, but at the same time, the report also notes that rumors connecting Jacobs to Dior have swirled as far back as 1996, when the brand ended up hiring Galliano.
While LVMH has been known to focus on established star power, brands like McQueen have shown promise in promoting lesser-known internal talent that show true design prowess. (The New York Times' Cathy Horyn, for example, is hoping the brand picks someone like Christopher Kane or Raf Simons.) For a brand like Dior, however, star power may yet win out.
