If Chanel Calls, Marc Jacobs Says He’ll Answer

Ever since Chanel’s creative director, Virginie Viard, left the French luxury house back in April, the fashion industry has been rife with rumors and wishful thinking about who might succeed her in that once-in-a-generation job. During the shows in Paris this summer, Cathy Horyn reported on the potential candidates and industry favorites, including Hedi Slimane, Daniel Roseberry, Nadège Vanhée, and Glenn Martens. But one name that keeps coming up is Marc Jacobs, who led an influential tenure at Louis Vuitton as creative director from 1997 to 2013. Since then, he’s been focused on his namesake brand, which is owned by LVMH but based in New York. Horyn outlined why many fashion people would love to see him get the big job now: “He loves Chanel, he’s a classicist at heart, and he spent years working in Paris,” she wrote.

Turns out, Jacobs agrees. This week, the designer took the rare step of publicly declaring his interest in the coveted job. In an interview with the WSJ Magazine, Jacobs said he would be interested in returning to Europe if Chanel were the one to call. “There’s only one job I want, and I haven’t been asked to do it,” he said. His longtime pal and Chanel ambassador Sofia Coppola told the magazine she put in a good word for him with the powers that be at the house. “Who else has that talent, sophistication and also knows what kids are into?” she said.

Meanwhile, Chanel says it is in no hurry to decide on a new lead designer, given how consequential the hire will be for the future of the house. Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel’s president of fashion, told reporters in October that the in-house design team is already working on the next collections that will be presented in December and January. “This is not about finding a designer who will be here for two years, it is finding the right person who can embrace the huge scale of Chanel, and lead a new vision in the long term,” he told The Guardian.