PPR

It's been a big year for Scottish designer Christopher Kane: 2013 kicked off with Kering--formerly PPR--taking a majority stake in his company and since then he's been moving his brand forward at an ever increasing pace. The latest move for Kane? The official announcement of his very first flagship store.

Joseph Altuzarra has been the golden boy of the New York fashion scene ever since he debuted his namesake line in 2008 with Carine Roitfeld's full support. Season after season his collections have garnered critical acclaim. And in five short years he's racked up almost every major fashion prize out there: This summer he took home the American Woolmark Prize, 2012 he won the Swarovski Award for Womenswear and in 2011 he won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. So it's no surprise really, that Kering (formerly PPR)--the luxury group that includes Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga--has taken a stake in Altuzarra.

Being married to the CEO of a major luxury company has its perks, as Salma Hayek proved by changing her "lewk" seven times between June 10 and June 11 in New York this week.

The artist luxury conglomerate formerly known as PPR is making moves. The just-christened Kering has acquired a majority stake in one of the world's largest tanneries, WWD is reporting.

PPR has left the building. It's no longer a thing. The name, that is. As was rumored, the luxury conglomerate today announced that it will change its name to *drumroll please* ...

Selena Gomez is on the new issue of Harper's Bazaar holding a giant flower as a rather impractical umbrella. But is Justin Bieber's maybe-ex squeeze a lil' too lil' to cover the grown-up glossy? {Refinery29} Margherita Missoni is preggers with her first bambino. {Telegraph} Survey says! Nordstrom is the most beloved retail chain in all the land. {WWD} Identity crisis? French luxury goods group PPR is reportedly changing its name to Kering, meaning 'dry' in Indonesian. Dry goods! No, like I totally get it! {Business of Fashion}

There are just two days standing between us and what's arguably this fashion month's most highly-anticipated event: Alexander Wang's debut for Balenciaga. So Suzy Menkes talked to him, Anna Wintour, PPR CEO François Henri Pinault, and, um, Danielle Steel to dig up some backstory, debunk some rumors, and find out what to expect from Wang's elevated new role.

Everything about the fall 2013 show announced: Christopher Kane has made it to the big leagues.

Which is not surprising, since Proenza Schouler is like, always, the look.

Good things come to those who wait. After speculation that Scottish designer Christopher Kane would take over the house of Balenciaga turned out to be only that—speculation—it has been announced that PPR, the luxury goods conglomerate that owns Balenciaga, as well as Alexander McQueen, Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, now owns a 51% stake in Kane's London-based fashion house.

Rumors have been swirling for months now that PPR is looking to invest in Christopher Kane's label. While we've yet to receive any sort of confirmation from either Kane or PPR, WWD is reporting that the deal is nearly done.

A month ago, when Nicolas Ghesquiere's successor at Balenciaga was still an unknown, rumors began swirling that hot young London designer Christopher Kane was a shoe-in. Obviously, that turned out not to be true. Still, it seems possible that Kane could have a future with Balenciaga parent company PPR.

It's no secret that PPR is interested in expansion. Both through different categories and new markets, like China. Hitting two birds with one stone, the French luxury conglomerate has just bought a majority stake in Qeelin, a Chinese fine jewelry brand, WWD reports. In addition to beefing up their "hard luxury" category (which refers to the jewelry and watch sector), the acquisition is one of many recent moves PPR has made to attract Chinese consumers--one of which, Financial Times' Vanessa Friedman claims was hiring Alexander Wang.

François-Henri Pinault, President and CEO of PPR, which owns Balenciaga, sat down for a lengthy Q & A session with CBS’s Rebecca Jarvis yesterday at the French Consulate in Paris. They discussed many things, like the "fiscal cliff," ecommerce, the American market, and of course, the decision to install Alexander Wang at Balenciaga--which is all we're interested in. The most interesting nugget to come out of the interview was the mention of couture at Balenciaga.

Now that we know who is going to take the reins at Balenciaga (it's Alexander Wang, in case you've been living under a rock), the next question on everyone's minds is: What will change under the new designer? Well, according to the CEO of Balenciaga's parent company PPR, François-Henri Pinault, not a whole lot.

It's official: After a few days of unconfirmed reports, Balenciaga has just sent out a press release naming Alexander Wang the new creative director of Balenciaga, replacing Nicolas Ghesquière.

After initial reports that Christopher Kane would succeed Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga, followed by Kane's departure from Versus, followed by reports that Balenciaga's parent company PPR was looking to invest in Kane's eponymous label, it seemed likely that Kane was the front-runner for the Balenciaga gig, despite his statement that the rumors were "unfounded." But early last night we got word from a reliable source that Alexander Wang--whose name was tossed into the ring for the Dior job as well as the Balenciaga job--would be named the new creative director of Balenciaga in around a week's time. And since the New York Times' Cathy Horyn is also reporting that Wang is the leading candidate to replace Ghesquière according to a Paris source "with knowledge of the discussions," it seems pretty damn likely that he's in.

Today in news to keep those Christopher Kane/Balenciaga rumors alive: WWD is reporting that, according to sources, "PPR has held discussions with Christopher Kane about financial backing for the fledgling firm."

The day after PPR announced Balenciaga's split with the brand's creative director of 15 years, Nicolas Ghesquière, there are of course already rumors circulating about who might replace him.

News of Nicolas Ghesquiere's departure from Balenciaga seemed to surprise everyone from Style.com, whose feature about him in their new print magazine offers no real clues, to Cathy Horyn, who just offered up some insight as to why Ghesquière may have decided to leave. While Ghesquière declined comment, Horyn spoke to "a number of individuals, who requested anonymity because of their dealings with PPR," who confirmed speculation that Ghesquière has been frustrated with Balenciaga and PPR.

Nicolas Ghesquière, one of the most critically acclaimed and influential designers working today, is leaving his post as creative director of Balenciaga. Balenciaga parent company PPR just announced that Balenciaga and Ghesquière have made the "joint decision to end their working relationship as of 30 November 2012."

Could this be a white flag in the on-going dispute between designer Hedi Slimane and critic Cathy Horyn? Slimane has removed all his tweets about Cathy Horyn, including the original open letter. There is no explanation left in it's place, so we're left to wonder what motivated the designer to delete them at all.

PPR CEO Francois-Henri Pinault responds to Slimane's critics, including Cathy Horyn. This story will never end!

PPR has just partnered with luxury ecommerce site Yoox.com, to launch a new online platform--PPR will own 51%, Yoox 49%--that will sell the conglomera