They said/We said: Marc Jacobs is asking for the big bucks at Dior

Photography by Peter Stigter

Following the recent conviction of John Galliano, the buzz around Marc Jacobs replacing him at Dior intensifies. The latest rumour is that Jacobs and business partner Robert Duffy are in negotiations and asking for a salary package of $10 million.

If Jacobs cashes in on the deal, he’ll be one of the highest-paid designers in the world. The new position of creative director also means more work for Jacobs, adding Dior’s two couture shows on top of his existing workload.

Now that it’s looking more and more likely that Jacobs will say goodbye to Louis Vuitton, the people at Vuitton seem to be scrambling to find a replacement. Apparently they’ve approached many of fashion’s heavyweights including Alber Elbaz, the Proenza Schouler boys, Nicolas Ghesquiere, Sarah Burton, and Hedi Slimane. So far, Elbaz, Ghesquiere and Burton have declined.

THEY SAID…

Antoine Belge, HSBC’s Paris-based head of consumer brands and retail equity research: “In this day and age, for a brand the size of Louis Vuitton or Christian Dior, we tend to believe that artistic directors only account for a small portion of the brand’s attribute. We therefore do not immediately factor in a change in artistic director into our valuation of the brand.”

Hamish Bowles: “I think that [Jacobs’s] work is so referential in an exciting way, he can take a reference and do something intriguing with it, so it would be exciting to see him unleashed on such an astonishing archive as that house.” [NY Mag]

Anna Dello Russo: “Marc Jacobs has had this brilliant career and now he’s going to Dior. He’s one of the five designers of the century.” [Fashionista]

Mickey Boardman: “I totally support Marc Jacobs for Dior. Tell Mr. Arnault that I say that … Or no — I can’t even pronounce it, let alone tell him how I feel.” [NY Mag]

WE SAID…

Caitlin Agnew, assistant editor/research: “This reminds me of the scene in Austin Powers where Dr. Evil holds the world ransom for one hundred billion dollars, except this time it’s the fashion world that’s at stake.”   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTmXHvGZiSY

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