Who will be Dior's next designer?

Christian Dior's show at Paris fashion week on Friday will be the talk of the town as the brand is still without a designer six months after John Galliano was fired after making anti-Semitic remarks at a Paris bar.Shotlist



FRANCE-DIOR - Paris Fashion week is in full swing and clothes by Portuguese designer Fatima Lopes were first down the runway.


But the talk back stage isn't confined to the latest designs - the next big appointment at Christian Dior is a hot topic.


The brand is still without a designer six months after John Galliano's dramatic firing for making anti-Semitic remarks at a Paris bar.


Tipped to take over is U.S. designer Mark Jacobs who's currently working for Dior's sister brand Louis Vuitton.
Lopes thinks he would be a good choice.


FASHION DESIGNER FATIMA LOPES, SAYING:
"What I really like, what I really respect is the designers who are really unique and of course he (Marc Jacobs) is really unique."


But there are many who disagree including fashion blogger Marcellous L. Jones.
HOST AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE FASHION INSIDER.COM MARCELLOUS L. JONES, SAYING:
"I'm not very convinced at this particular moment that he will have what it takes in order to take over such an iconic brand as Dior. Particularly because Dior is still one of the houses to have the Haute Couture label. Jacobs has never worked in a house, to my knowledge, where he worked on Haute Couture."


Jacobs is credited with helping to turn Louis Vuitton into the world's biggest luxury brand - raking in nearly $8 billion dollars in annual sales.


Whether he'll get the chance to do the same for Dior is yet to be decided.


Their first collection without Galliano will go on show on Friday when critics hope to find out for certain who will be his successor.


Hayley Platt, Reuters.

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Paris Fashion Week lifts off with first show at Eiffel Tower.

Portuguese designer Fatima Lopes kicks off Paris Fashion Week with a colourful presentation inside the iconic Eiffel Tower.



PARIS, FRANCE (SEPTEMBER 27, 2011)(REUTERS - Portuguese designer Fatima Lopes elevated the start of Paris Fashion Week with a show inside the French capital's most iconic landmark, the Eiffel Tower, on Tuesday (September 27).



With a collection entitled "Levitation", the designer used bright colours like turquoise blue, sea green and orange to lift the spirits of the gloom of the global economic downturn. She used light fabrics like mousseline in nude colours and paired them with black to give the clothes a weightless but elegant feel.

Lopes also used PVC in her collection, on bathing suits in candy stripes of red and pink, to strapless daydresses in blue and neon green.


Accessories were marked by clutch bags that matched gowns and towering nude heels, which were secured together by a bar.

Lopes talked about making one of her childhood fantasies come true.

"My dream is to make a fashion show at the Eiffel Tower. It's the 26th show in Paris, it's the opening, and the theme of the collection was levitation, so I wanted something very high and really Eiffel Tower is top," she told Reuters Television.


She also touched on the energetic focus of her collection. She admitted that she was also worried about the global economic crisis but said the fashion show must go on.


"Well I think the whole world is scared of course, that's why I think fashion has this obligation to make art and make people forget the problems. Problems are real but of course I'm worried, but at the same time, this is the life I've chosen. And I really love my profession."


Paris Fashion Week will see shows by some of the world's biggest labels including Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent, with all eyes focusing on Christian Dior, to see whether U.S. designer Marc Jacobs will take over design duties from John Galliano, who was sacked in February over anti-Semetic rants.