John Galliano’s gaffe of making anti-semitic remarks in the La Perle restaurant in Paris has finally resulted in costing him the House of Dior. However, by some accounts, it’s said that the House has been looking to replace him for some time and that a former worker in its Atelier Flou said that he was rarely seen and looked disheveled and disconnected with the workshops.

So, the biggest question looms: who will take the helm at the House of Dior? A prestigious name for a designer who had created the “New Look” with emphasis on new shapes.

As the conversations are flying off on Twitter on speculations of the next Creative Director, a few names have popped up: Jean-Paul Gaultier, Hedi Slimane, and Rodarte.While all are notable designers in their own right, there are several reasons why those particular choices wouldn’t work for Dior.

Jean-Paul Gaultier
Having just left Hermes to concentrate on his own collections, including Haute Couture, J-P probably doesn’t have the time to shoulder more RTWs and Haute Couture collections. Karl Lagerfeld is probably the only man who is doing triple duty in this industry (Chanel, Chanel Haute Couture, Fendi, and Karl Lagerfeld), and it’s safe to assume that J-P isn’t looking to have a House rich in history resting on his shoulders. Besides, J-P’s vision is much too wild for Dior. Galliano was wild, but J-P is even wilder, he’s not nicknamed L’Enfant Terrible for nothing.

Hedi Slimane
Formerly the head designer for Dior Homme, it would be a natural choice for Slimane to take over, but given he has little experience in womenswear and much less in Haute Couture, it would be doubtful he could pull it off. Let’s also remember that he’s left Dior in 2007 by his own will to have more creative control, so a stuffy House of Dior is probably not his cup of tea.

Rodarte
The brand has received much praise since their debut of edgy, almost visceral looks, and it’s grown in the last couple of seasons into more prim designs. Still, RTW is nothing like Haute Couture, the Mulleavy sisters are much too young and free spirited to be confined to Dior’s standards. They need to run free with their designs, they’re a pair that can’t be tamed.

Marc Jacobs
Considering he has revitalized intense interest in Louis Vuitton with his flamboyant designs, he’s a good candidate for Dior, however Marc Jacobs himself has pretty much become the face of Vuitton. Having him switch over to Dior would be a strange move and it would only cause further controversy of who would replace him at LV. I say Marc is out of this one.

Alber Elbaz
As much as I love Elbaz, he should stay at Lanvin. It’s his home. Seriously. Don’t take the man away from a brand he has revitalized with his beautiful designs. Elbaz is Lanvin, point final.

So who would I pick to fill in the shoes at Dior?

Left: Raf Simons for Jil Sander F/W 2011, Phoebe Philo for Celine S/S 2011. Style.com

Ideally? Raf Simons from Jil Sander. But because he’s part of the Prada Group, that may not be possible. He’s repeatedly shown his eye for couture lately, with constant play on shapes and colors while still keeping with minimalistic elements of Jil Sander. I would assume he would apply the same kind of care to Dior and have ample resources to really let his imagination fly at Dior. Let’s not confuse that Simons’ interpretation of Dior will be vastly different from Galliano. The last 15 years are certainly filled with theatrical showmanship with Galliano’s Dior, but what of the essence of Dior? Back when Christian Dior was still alive, he was establishing new silhouettes and having women guffaw over how much fabric he was using to create his dresses during penny-pinching war times. Dior, much like Yves Saint Laurent, was all about the shapes. It would be nice to return to that.

Another rather good pick would be Phoebe Philo from Celine, which belongs to LVMH, and who better than the hottest female designing star to take over the helms at Dior? Perhaps a move away from the flamboyant will be a good change for Dior, and I think Philo would definitely have the chops to live up to expectations.

But, it’s all speculation, for now Paris is swirling in drama right now. Tomorrow is the big Thierry Mugler show with Lady Gaga and Nicola Formichetti as creative director. Times are certainly changing.

Samuel Dong has been known more so for his work at the CIMM in Montreal, creating commercial collections in womenswear rather than high end collections. In the past, I’ve seen mini collections that were associated with CIMM and had always appreciated his commercial touch. Recently he has been breaking out on his own, and this fall’s collection seems to be channeling some well-known designers.

Right from the start, we are treated to a club mix of “Un Bel Di Vedremo”, the famous song sung in the equally famous opera, Madame Butterfly, and when the first model walked out with dramatic fusion of Chinese Opera meets Japanese Kabuki makeup, I knew exactly where this collection was going. It immediately conjured up a post I did 2 years ago about the Dior Spring/Summer Haute Couture show in 2007. John Galliano had explained that he was inspired by the sad story of Cho Cho-san in Madame Butterfly and designed the entire collection revolving around Japanese costumes. The result was a stunningly theatrical collection, complete with dramatic eyemakeup and striking color palettes that Galliano is known for.

For Samuel Dong, the colors were equally striking, and the models were tall and slender with cinched waists and voluminous bubble skirts. Yes, there was Dior written all over the collection, and throwing in an Alexander McQueen-esque Victorian ruffled coat in red, or an animal printed silk shift dress – which reminded me of Christopher Kane’s baboon-printed dresses for some reason, and a touch of Roberto Cavalli with leopard print tights and shiny coats. It was such a shame that Samuel didn’t have an army of couterieres to add details to his already beautifully structured clothes, it was definitely a winner for the night. It’s odd to say, but the clothes had no “asian flavor” so to speak, so it didn’t entirely pay homage to Madame Butterfly.

Like much of Galliano’s work however, I find it difficult to place this collection on the sales floor, much like it would be rare to find Dior clothing in most retail stores. There a lot of pieces that look great on the runway, but sadly sometimes doesn’t translate well into commercial standards. Still, it’s not to say that the entire collection is completely unsellable, there are a few pieces that could work well into one’s wardrobe. But this collection has indeed come to a pleasant surprise, surpassing my expectations and seeing that there is hopeful potential in Samuel’s work to keep channeling a simmering talent for haute couture looks.

Now, people often ask “What’s the difference between Haute Couture and Pret-a-porter?”

Well, quite a lot. Namely, Haute Couture is not catered to the mass audience but rather an exclusive and very rich clientele. The very rich are very few and in between, even celebrities only cover a fraction of the truly rich people in the world. Haute Couture involves custom-made tailoring and only uses fabrics of the highest quality. More often, they are less publicized in commercial fashion as the price range of their pieces is not made for the average household income.

In the world of luxury however, the houses recognized as Haute Couture by the Federation Francaise De La Couture in Paris are very few, 11 to be exact. They would be Christian Dior, Chanel, Adeline Andre, Christian Lacroix, , Givenchy, Dominique Sirop, Emanuel Ungaro (read more about Ungaro’s newly appointed young head designer at the Business of Fashion Blog), Franck Sorbier, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Maurizio Galante, Anne Valerie Nash. This is the current list as of 2007, among the former members include Balenciaga and Lanvin. If some of those names don’t seem familiar to you, it’s because you and I are not part of the social elite and the ultra rich to have heard about them. There are strict protocols to become a real Haute Couture House. But you’ll find much more information about why Haute Couture has become what it is today at Fashion-Era.com.

These houses are the only exception to their low-profile colleagues as Haute Couture shows in Paris are one of the most coveted media events next to Fashion Week.

10yrs of Dior Couture by John Galliano Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.
Image from Style.com

I find these shows to be a designer’s fantastical carousel of art pieces more so than realistic wear. John Galliano in particular for his fantastical theatrical shows, especially his Spring 2007 collection. I think for Haute Couture you’d have to really see the collection with an open mind.