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• June 5, 2009 8:35 AM
• News

Lagerfeld Out At Chanel??? Rumor Has Elbaz, Theyskens, and Karl Playing Musical Chairs at Megabrands

By Gabriel Bell

Holy what what? If there's anyone out there in fashion we're going to take at their word, it's the ever-mysterious, always on-the-ball Diane Perent. But this whopper deserves double and triple takes. A Shaded View on Fashion reports that not only has Herr Karl decided not to renew his contract with Chanel, but that Lanvin's bow-tied wiz Albert Elbaz will take his place and (yes, there's more) Olivier Theyskens, still smarting from his divorce from Nina Ricci, will take over the helm at Lanvin. Yeah, crazy, right? Right now, as Perent says, this is nothing more than a rumor—but by the end of the day, we should know the truth. Obviously, Olivier is perfect for Lanvin—he could maintain and the precious, elegant, Parisian sensibility of the brand. Also, when you consider that Lagerfeld was a bit of an unexpected choice when Chanel picked him up in 1983, the kooky but elegant Elbaz makes more sense. But then, there's the whole issue of Karl retiring. Madness. Really, this is all too much to process and we'll update you when this rumor is straightened out into something resembling truth. In the meantime, we're going to have some chamomile and lie down. (A Shaded View)

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