THE HUNT FOR THE NEW CREATIVE DESIGNER AT DIOR

The Dior creative director position has sat empty since the dramatic firing of John Galliano in March, who was shamed by a series of drunken, anti-Semitic outbursts. The question of who will take the top job at Dior has remained since Galliano's ousting. Media-wise the search for Dior's next creative designer seems to have taken on a life of it's own . Let's review the past events as we progress to the latest development of this story. 

• March 2, 2011 - Alber Elbaz of Lanvin, YSL's Stefano Pilati of Yves Saint Laurent and Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci were the favourites to take over from John Galliano at Dior. Balenciaga's  Nicolas Ghesquiere, Nina Ricci's Peter Copping and Roland Mouret were also rumored to be top candidates for the positon of creative designer.

• March 4, 2011 - There had been from those in the know in Paris stating that Riccardo Tisci is already being lined up to replace Galliano for Christian Dior - and that  Haider Ackermann will take over his role at Givenchy.   
  
  
• March 8, 2011 -  there had been talks that Riccardo Tisci (the Givenchy Designer)  was confirmed at Dior inspite of numerous reports flying  from fashion insiders, Dior remains unconfirmed. When asked about the rumor, the Givenchy designer would only say "I felt this was a strong, positive season. And I'm happy at Givenchy."

• March 9, 2011 - Tweeters at Style.com said that they didn’t want to “add to the Dior rumor mill” when they revealed that “people in Paris are asking, why has the Lanvin team been in tears all day?” Alber Elbaz being a top candidate for the job, according to WWD, unfortunately the Lanvin's creative director felt he couldn't leave behind his job and equity stakes.The same reasons goes for Balenciaga's Nicolas Ghesquière.

• April 1, 2011 -  Bernard Arnault (CEO of the French conglomerate LVMH) told the LVMH and Dior shareholders meetings yesterday that there is no rush to replace Galliano at Dior. He added that the team at Dior, who took a bow following the autumn/winter 2011-2012 show, will create the collection without a creative director in the meantime: "They are effective, creative and accustomed to doing so," he said, WWD reports.

• April 20, 2011 - Sarah Burton the creative director of the label Alexander McQueen, was the latest designer to be named by the press as a possible Christian Dior creative director. Burton, has been touted by WWD as someone in the running for one of fashion's biggest jobs. 

• April 20, 2011-  At the 2011 CFDA / Vogue Fashion Fund party, Prabal Garung was on every fashion journalists radar for unexpectedly tossed in the ring as a possible replacement for John Galliano at Dior. He got a little nervous when asked about the subject and all he would say was this: “I feel extremely blessed that I’m in that lineup of designers that I’ve admired all this while…it’s unbelievable. It isn’t something I was expecting…I’m just going to say i was very humbled, grateful and thankful. I don’t want to say more.”

• April 21, 2011 - In an interview made by Cathy Horyn with the creative director of Rochas Marco Zanini, the designer was asked if he could design for Dior. He answered,  "I think, yes. The way I work; if I told you, you’d be bored to tears. It’s not about me imposing my style on a brand. There are some people who impose their signature in a very overwhelming way and there are others who do it in a subtle way, like a little signature in a corner. Not speaking as a designer, I hope they’ll put someone at Dior who will not walk down path of a caricature, the over-the-top thing. It would be so refreshing to see a Dior that could look real. That’s what happened with Céline. Women fell in love with it. They saw something cool, elegant, smart. At Dior, let’s hope it’s not a predictable choice."

• April 26, 2011 - "Well I'm not a consultant there, but I think Riccardo Tisci would be good, and then Haider Ackermann at Givenchy - not because they're friends of mine, but because they're good," were the statement given by Karl Lagerfeld to W magazine regarding who should succeed Galliano at Dior.

• June 20, 2011 - There were speculations that  Azzedine Alaïa turned down the Dior's offer as the next creative designer. Vanessa Friedman wrote her explanation regarding this issue in defense of the designer who has taken a stand against the impossibly demanding nature of the fashion cycle. Concluding that one of the houses that most embodies that continuous pressure is Dior; indeed, when former designer John Galliano imploded, the pressures of the system were cited as major contributing factors.

• August 8, 2011 - WWD editor Bridget Foley endorses Marc Jacobs as the perfect fit for the Dior job. Stating that, "He knows how to run major brands, and sell everything from clothes to perfume to accessories. If he made Louis Vuitton accessories as hot as he did through collaborations like the one with artist Takashi Murakami, imagine what he could do for Dior accessories, which don't feel so hip. His fashion shows — very significant marketing opportunities for houses like Dior especially — "are among the handful that get the insider audience excited in advance," Foley adds. She believes he would make good use of the couture atelier, having put out increasingly "hand-worked" collections for Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton over the seasons.

• August 11, 2011 - Brazilian website Glamurama claimed to have spoken to sources close to Bernard Arnault, who insist Marc Jacobs is at the top of the Dior hit list. Jacobs denied he was in the frame for the job back in March, declaring: "I haven't been asked", whilst LVMH had no comment to make on the rumor. 

• August 22, 2011 - the whispers have been further substantiated by sources close to the brand - and a possible Vuitton successor has emerged in the shape of Phoebe Philo. Philo's move to Louis Vuitton would not stop her designing for Celine. Such move would be another major overhaul for the LVMH family.

• August 25, 2011 - Rumors of  Marc Jacobs taking over at Christian Dior gain full steam. "According to sources," writes the ever-reliable fashion newspaper, LVMH head Bernard Arnault has been in talks with Jacobs, currently designer for two eponymous lines as well as Louis Vuitton, about filling the top spot at Christian Dior. Now WWD gives the gossip some veracity by writing, "One source cautioned that a deal with Jacobs is not assured, but that the American designer and Dior management are so far excited about the prospect."

After Alber Elbaz, Nicolas Ghesquiere, Azzedine Alaïa, Sarah Burton, Ricardo Tisci, Haider Ackermann and other notable designers have reportedly linked to this fascinating search.  Six plus collections a year is no easy feat, and LVMH boss Bernard Arnault is notoriously critical. Someone needs to sign a contract soon and revive the Dior label.