Hi, welcome back to Line Sheet, still in Paris. Home stretch? Sort of. Five more days! We can do it. To keep things lively, drop me a note on the Line Sheet SMS channel. I accept tips, comments, questions, and complaints. No bribes. (I’m looking at you, Turkish Airlines.)

Today is packed with LVMH intel and analysis (what’s up at the Fashion Group, what’s down at Dior), notes from the shows, and a few welcome distractions. (Unfortunately, I have not yet made it to The Row’s new store in Paris, but I am committing right now to making it there—and to Uniqlo, for some U—by Monday’s send.)

🚨🚨 Programming note: Tomorrow on Fashion People, I’m joined by secret fashion person and America’s most famous makeup artist, Bobbi Brown. We talk Emerson College, those great magazine shoots in the ’80s and ’90s, the “natural” look, Old Céline, building two businesses from scratch, and New Jersey. I hope you enjoy this respite from highfalutin Europe. Listen here and here.

Mentioned in this issue: Maria Grazia Chiuri, Chloé, Christopher de Lapuente, Tiffany, Loewe, Bernard Arnault, La Maison, Dries Van Noten, Céline, Michael Burke, Chanel, Alexandre Arnault, Pieter Mulier, Gucci, Kim Jones, Mohawk General, John Galliano, asymmetrical necklines, Hedi Slimane, Michael Rider, Ralph Lauren, Pietro Beccari, Jonathan Anderson, Delphine Arnault, s-e-x, and more…

• Are we gearing up for more movement within the LVMH Fashion Group?: Last night in Paris, speculation flipped from designer musical chairs to executive switcheroos—ignited, I suspect, by the leak earlier in the week that Christopher de Lapuente, whose LVMH division oversees Sephora and Le Bon Marché, was leaving. (I believe Astrid Wendlandt was first on this, but don’t @ me.)

  LVMH followed up with its own leak, to WWD, positing that de Lapuente was retiring. Fair enough, but it’s undoubtedly a huge loss to the company. As LVMH chairman and C.E.O. Bernard Arnault said in his internal memo, Sephora has grown five-fold since de Lapuente’s arrival in 2011.

  Anyway, this has everyone wondering: What is happening with the Fashion Group? Is Sidney Toledano, who was reinstalled after Michael Burke exited earlier this year, sticking around indefinitely? Or will one of the kids take it over? Alas, Alexandre Arnault, who helps run Tiffany in the U.S., may not yet be ready for such a big job. But he’s also the most clued into the global zeitgeist among the current executive pool, and I could see them pairing him with someone. Regardless, the exit of de Lapuente, Toni Belloni, and the sidelining of Burke earlier this year—whether it was his prerogative or not—are all undoubtedly part of the succession plan. (Call me on +1 646-241-3902 to discuss. I’m on Signal, too. But not the other weird one.)

• We love a studio collection: By now you surely know that Dries Van Noten, who retired from designing last season, sat front row at his brand’s show in Paris on Wednesday. Without a creative director appointed to succeed him, his studio took the bow. And the collection was good, if not superhuman—the models resembled what a very cool girl would look like if she went to Mohawk General in Silver Lake and spent an afternoon trying on Dries. My takeaway: We like to think brands don’t need a single voice of authority. Maybe, in the long term, that’s the wrong attitude. For now, the Dries Van Noten studio is doing an excellent job. But they’ll need a true leader sooner than later.
• More on the shows: The beginning of Paris Fashion Week feels like a series of fits and starts… The big shows (Dior and Saint Laurent) are true marketing spectacles, then there are the trickles of new talent. On Tuesday, I went to see LVMH Prize competitors Marie Adam-Leenaerdt and Ellen Hodakova. Adam-Leenaerdt served lunch in a café where all the Belgians stop off before they get on the train. I like her work, and have been impressed by the commercial potential of her skirts and sweaters. This season, though, I thought Hodakova had a clearer idea, with her spliced-together heels and belt-leather bows. (She won the prize, by the way.) The hair and makeup, with its soft edges, was good, too. Later that night at a party, a (very accomplished) designer said the collection felt a bit too close to Margiela’s Hermès.

  References are so flat these days; originality is a fallacy. The most original thing might have occurred at The Row, where the Olsens not only banned cameras, but did not deign to show handbags. It was a message that, despite being flush with fresh capital, the company was not about to start amplifying its most scalable elements—it would continue practicing restraint, which is why it was worthy of such an investment in the first place.

  I like the Courrèges story—it’s yet another example of one of these well-funded, but not swimming in it, historic brands that is being managed nicely. Nicolas Di Felice is one of these guys whom other brands are surely considering for bigger jobs, but he’s also establishing such a clear base at Courrèges that I hope he sticks around for a while. (He’s one of the few designers who is unafraid of s-e-x.) Then there’s American-in-Paris Casey Cadwallader, who has done so much with (presumably) so little at Clarins-owned Mugler. This season, he showed his expertly sculpted pieces during the day, in a more intimate setting, so you could see them for real. I’d love to see him take on something bigger.

  In some ways, though, Paris Fashion Week truly started with Chemena Kamali’s second go at Chloé. All those ruffles feel optimistic, fun to wear, and, dare I say, aspirational. The industry is pulling for her, as evidenced by the cluster of designer friends who attended, including Daniel Lee, the Burberry creative director, who was all smiles while being interviewed for an online video. Fashion might be total chaos right now, but that’s easy to forget when it makes you feel something—especially something good. More to come on Monday.

• Balmain’s Estée Army: I stopped attending the Balmain shows a couple of seasons ago—I was more interested in the business than the fashion—so I didn’t pass on Rachel Strugatz’s regards to the Estée Lauder Co. executives that attended on Wednesday evening: outgoing C.E.O. Fabrizio Freda, group president Jane Hudis, Tom Ford C.E.O. Guillaume Jesel, and both Jane and William Lauder. Here’s Rachel’s readout: “The Estée mafia dressed for the occasion—the Janes were in corresponding black looks—but the highlight was Jesel in a double-breasted blazer from the current collection with a rhinestone encrusted ‘P.B.’—as in, Pierre Balmain.” Rachel found the link so you don’t have to.
• Miu Miu’s Art Basel Paris play: For those of you in Paris after the shows, I’m pleased to inform you that Miu Miu has been named the “official partner” of Art Basel Paris’s public program. The Miuccia Prada-designed brand will sponsor an exhibition at Palais d’Iéna—home to the label’s runway shows—engineered by Elvira Dyangani Ose (the director of Barcelona’s Contemporary Art Museum) and featuring the work of Goshka Macuga. At Tuesday’s Miu Miu fashion show, Macuga is slated to stage an “artistic intervention” that will serve as a precursor to the project, which is open to the public October 16-20 during the fair.

  I asked an art-world friend to explain what the value would be for Miu Miu to sponsor Art Basel, and Art Basel Paris in particular. For years, Matchesfashion was an official Frieze sponsor—a perfect way for the online luxury retailer (R.I.P.) to access actual paying customers, so there’s that. Go to any one of these shows and you’ll see that art collectors wear real fashion—and not just bags and shoes, but clothes, too. (And wow, guys, they pay! And probably don’t get discounts!) “There’s just so much money,” my friend said, noting that favored brands include Loewe, Prada, Miu Miu, and Bottega Veneta. (I’d add Alaïa to that group.)

  Art Basel Paris, which is only three years old, is emerging as one of the most—if not the most—important fall art fairs in Europe since major U.S. and U.K. galleries have opened Paris outposts post-Brexit. (David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, Pace, etcetera…) Art fairs make for great people watching, by the way. If you want to know more about what actually gets sold between the gawking, be sure to subscribe to Wall Power, Marion Maneker’s email on the business of the art and auction world.

• On the Proenza thing: Earlier this week, I might have been way too zealous when I said that Proenza Schouler’s sales at one point were just under $200 million. A source with access to such information corrected me, saying the peak was above the current ~$75 million number, but not 2x+ that sum. This person also said that the company is far more profitable now than it was back then.
• Also: Yesterday, I totally forgot to include Pieter Mulier on the Chanel candidate list! (Maybe it is my subconscious not wanting him to go there because I love Alaïa so much.)

“Terrible.” —A fashion journalist

“I haven’t watched La Maison yet either—no time!! They should’ve dropped after fashion month.” —A busy publicist

“I loved the French soap opera style, but especially because it feels like it’s based on facts that I’ve learned by reading you in Puck. As someone who didn’t know much about fashion until a few months ago, I find myself trying to find a match for each character to one of your real-life Puck characters.” —An obviously brilliant professor

Did it? Chiuri has made LVMH billions of dollars, and LVMH does not let talent loose if they can finagle an alternative. Chiuri’s design approach—straightforward, incredibly well-made, practical clothing and standard, pretty accessories—worked for a long time. And it’s surely still working, if perhaps not quite as well.

When she was appointed C.E.O., in February, Arnault inherited a complex infrastructure that was only growing more unwieldy, despite the best efforts—or at least efforts—to unify the brand. Arnault’s predecessor Pietro Beccari, who now runs Louis Vuitton, preached often about the concept of “One Dior”: the notion that all the fragmented businesses (mens, women, fragrance…), run by different teams and with different aesthetics, would somehow positively homogenize across categories under one identity. Louis Vuitton, for instance, has three separate creative directors, Hermès has several, and yet you can close your eyes and see an image of those brands in your mind. But Dior is rooted in couture rather than leather-goods craftsmanship, and it’s more challenging to pull everything together, even with such strong codes like the bar jacket and saddle bag.

How can Arnault move One Dior forward? Make zero creative changes, or maintain the creative configuration in place but change the players? Maybe add a third person, like John Galliano, to focus on couture-only? (I suspect he could rejoin LVMH, but only to revive his own brand.) And then there’s the argument that Dior would benefit from having one person oversee both the men’s and women’s lines. (Dior Enfant and the makeup and fragrance division—one of LVMH Beauty’s cash cows—would likely keep their creative directors no matter what.)

Who is the right person for the dual-gender job? There’s an argument for Jonathan Anderson, who’s proven his creative capabilities and business chops at Loewe, the group’s hottest brand by a mile. He’s also only 40 years old, and could, in theory, hold a big position for the next 20 years. Then there’s the argument for Hedi Slimane, who has been rumored to be leaving Celine for months, only to remain in place. Which reminds me: What’s happening with Michael Rider, who left Ralph Lauren for an LVMH gig in the spring? He was slated to take over Celine, we thought.

Whatever happens—nothing, something, or everything—the direction Arnault takes Dior will set the tone for the group, and her success (or failure) will undoubtedly impact the succession contest. In the meantime, she, her father, and whoever else is currently in charge of the LVMH Fashion Group have to do everything in their power to hold on to Anderson and Slimane, preventing them from leaving for Gucci or Chanel or anywhere else. This sort of multidimensional ego management isn’t always pleasant, but it’s an example of a skill that Bernard Arnault has effortlessly mastered, and one his daughter will need to hone if she wants to take over for him.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I suggested that the changes in ownership at Moncler left room for another investor to join? Well, turns out C.E.O. Remo Ruffini is teaming up with LVMH to take a bigger stake. [WWD]

Dylan reports that Troy Young might be taking over Roman. Also: more Nuzzi and Lizza, the story that unites us all. [In the Room]

Let’s be clear, I doubt that Diego Della Valle will ever retire, but he is stepping down from his role as C.E.O. of the Tod’s Group, which he and his family own. Former Chanel exec John Galantic is the new guy. [WWD]

Remember when I told you the group that owns Starface and Julie (co-run by Rachel’s husband, Brian Bordainick) was launching a new company that aimed to normalize Fentanyl test strips? Well, Overdrive is here. [Vogue]

Loved Sandra Hüller by Juergen Teller. [Vogue Germany]

Until next week,
Lauren