As the House of Dior remains in flux after the ousting of Galliano, Marc Jacobs has emerged as the top contender for the spot vacated by the troubled design genius.
When asked if he was gunning for Galliano's job at Dior at his last Vuitton show, Jacobs responded with an ambiguous, "I haven't been asked."
Jacobs' contract at Louis Vuitton and LVMH is said to be interested in moving him to Dior and then possible replacing Jacobs' position at Vuitton with Céline's Pheobe Philo.
WWD has reported sources saying that Jacobs' was actually in the running for the Dior job in the nineties as a successor to Gianfranco Ferré, but he ended up at Vuitton because Dior's then-president wanted Galliano.
Cathy Horyn of The New York Times says that Marc Jacobs is a likely contender for the position:
I am not at all surprised LVMH executives are talking to Marc Jacobs about moving from Louis Vuitton to Dior, as Women’s Wear Daily reported today. Not to disparage Mr. Jacobs’s talents, but where else can they look? With few exceptions, the strategy of Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH, has been to load up his brands with big, bankable stars, and there are not many of them available.
According to WWD, other potential candidates for the elite position include Lanvin's Alber Elbaz and Balenciaga's Nicolas Ghesquière. Alexander McQueen's successor Sarah Burton,"is said to have rebuffed overtures." Haicker Ackermann and Hedi Slimane were also approached, with no deals made and Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci is still a candidate.
Bill Gaytten, Galliano's right-hand man who is currently overseeing the Galliano label is thought to be designing for Dior's spring 2012 collection showing at Paris in September. However, poor reviews for Gaytten's couture show this summer makes it likely that LVMH is actively seeking a replacement.
