“This is not a fact until you officially read it somewhere else but rumour has it that Karl Lagerfeld will not renew his contract at Chanel and that Albert [sic] Elbaz will take his place and Olivier Theyskens will take Albert’s place at Lanvin. Both choices make perfect sense to me…Nothing is engraved in cement, these are still just rumours you will have to wait and see.” —Diane Pernet from A Shaded View of Fashion.
Quote of the Day
Jun 5, 2009 @ 10:59am
A Shaded View on Fashion, Alber Elbaz, Diane Pernet, Karl Lagerfeld, Lanvin, Olivier Theyskens
4
posted by Britt Aboutaleb
Jun 05, 2009 11:17AM
i'm sorry!! haha my fault - but aren't the gay penguins adorable?
9
posted by guest
Jun 05, 2009 11:54AM
OT at Lanvin is a BAD idea. Just don't do it. Lanvin is saleable and wearable. OT doesn't believe in such novel ideas.
Alber belongs at Lanvin. He is rebuilding that brand into a powerhouse and in my opinion will have far more greater freedom to create his own image of a woman and a larger degree of control than at Chanel.
Karl isn't leaving. I refuse to believe such nonsense. But, Valentino did retire and with the state of luxury goods industry maybe Karl doesn't want to deal with all that bullshit. If he does leave, I believe he will hand pick his replacement. He has a very close and very tight relationship with the family that owns Chanel.
Does anyone remember the NY Mag article with MJ and RD where MJ said his dream job would be designing Chanel. That would truly be a wtf hiring.
10
posted by guest
Jun 05, 2009 12:18PM
I can't believe Lanvin's top brass would be dumb enough to hire Theyskens, so therefore I don't believe this rumor. They're extremely smart, savvy business people who've enabled Elbaz to make Lanvin a new luxury powerhouse. I love my old Rochas pieces (didn't like Theyskens at Ricci as much), but the man needs to go back to having his own label. He'd run Lanvin into the ground so fast, and that'd be a sad thing to see. Plus, his aesthetic doesn't match with the one Elbaz has so carefully cultivated and associated with the Lanvin brand.
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posted by nycshoegal
Jun 05, 2009 12:20PM
I worship Lanvin by Elbaz. i don't think Chanel would be the right place for him at all.
12
posted by Jean Voltaire
Jun 05, 2009 12:46PM
I for one am not going to believe some one who cannot even spell a designer's name correctly.
1. Karl Lagerfeld is Chanel; Chanel is Karl Lagerfeld - the man has been at the house for decades - he is NOT going to leave.
2. Alber Elbaz has brought life into Lanvin, sales have drastically risen over the past few years thanks to him. He has won critical acclaim from the press, from stores and from women all over the world.
3. As much as I ADORE Olivier, I doubt that his next job will be at Lanvin - ever since he left Nina Ricci everyone's been saying how he is in the process of revitalizing his own namesake brand.
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posted by nycshoegal
Jun 05, 2009 12:51PM
"I for one am not going to believe some one who cannot even spell a designer's name correctly." - i second that #12.
when did Elbaz change his name to AlberT
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posted by RashomonRebel
Jun 05, 2009 3:24PM
When I look at Britt's pic, I think of Bridgette Bardot in this
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posted by cesarcmma
Jun 05, 2009 5:10PM
The rumor has been around for quite a while...
I really don't care for chanel...as far as Alber doesn't leave Lanvin.
And Oliver...he makes great SHOW clothes...and I don't wanna see Lanvin going down, for me Alber has the power to make the house even bigger and better than Chanel.
18
posted by guest
Jun 05, 2009 5:46PM
This would kind of blow my mind. Alber and Lanvin are so closely intertwined in my mind that it's hard to imagine one without the other. BUT I would be interested to see what he came up with at Chanel...
http://www.magpiemania.blogspot.com
(Yeah, self promotion, what? :) )
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posted by Britt Aboutaleb
Jun 05, 2009 6:31PM
silly goose mr. rashomon - that IS brigitte bardot.
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posted by Jean Voltaire
Jun 05, 2009 7:18PM
#20 I am very well aware of the (sic) usage and my statement was not in regards to Fashionista - it was in regards to the post on A Shaded View of Fashion.
And thanks for that tidbit about the name change, I was unaware whatsoever.
23
posted by purly
Jun 08, 2009 10:47PM
If Karl did leave Chanel, I would hope a woman could take his place. He's done a good job keeping with Chanel's morals, but I think the only people who can really give them a modern perspective are women. It's just that so many of Chanel's designs originated in the practical side of their usage (putting chain in the lining of a suit to make sure it falls just right, the specific number and size of pockets in the 2.55, using a durable yet beautiful fabric like tweed as opposed to something flimsy). I just think you need someone capable of taking these things into consideration, and I think that since a woman does this naturally, women are best suited for the job.
Ok, now I feel sexist for suggesting it.
24
posted by darcykins
Jun 09, 2009 11:50AM
i'm going to agree with 23 on a few points.
Chanel was based on practicality, androgyny, feminism and simplicity.
i don't feel Karl has ever really been in keeping with that. Houses grow and change but I feel there is a huge disjoint between Chanel past and present.
I would love to see a woman as Artistic Director there, but I do think a male designer could bring back what made Chanel revolutionary instead of elitist.
posted by guest
Jun 05, 2009 11:04AM
lets hope he dosn't. he gives a new meaning to "thats my name, don't wear it out".