Sarah Burton Said to Be Among the Top Contenders for Dior

While LVMH's Bernard Arnault has insisted that Dior is in no hurry to name Galliano's successor, his advisers have reportedly submitted a list of suggested candidates. According to Women's Wear Daily, the list includes: Riccardo Tisci, Tom Ford, Hedi Slimane, Olivier Theyskens, Nicolas Ghesquière, Alber Elbaz, Haider Ackermann, Prabal Gurung, and Sarah Burton.

Many of these names are already widely regarded as likely choices, like Elbaz, Theyskens, and of course Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci, who was falsely rumored to have accepted the position last month. Tisci is said to be the favorite of Delphine Arnault, Bernard's daughter and the deputy managing director of Dior.

A more surprising name on the list is Sarah Burton, who until now has not seemed a likely choice because of her dedication to Alexander McQueen, which by all accounts she has masterfully helmed since her predecessor's death. Apparently Burton's chances of being offered the job would skyrocket if she were to dress Kate Middleton for the royal wedding, according to WWD:
Yet if Burton were to succeed in dressing Kate Middleton for her April 29 marriage to Prince William — something she and the company insist they are not doing — her chances would greatly improve. 



According to a source, Bernard Arnault is transfixed by royalty, and would be keen to launch Dior alongside the next-generation couple, just as Princess Diana helped catapult the image of the brand in 1995 when she toted a Lady Dior bag and, a year later, donned a midnight-blue, bias-cut Dior gown by Galliano to attend the Costume Institute gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

So, yet another reason to keep an eye on our handy royal-wedding countdown! Meanwhile, Dior's in-house design team is being overseen by Bill Gaytten, who worked beside Galliano since the eighties. They are reportedly finishing up the label's resort collection and have commenced work on the much-anticipated couture collection, which will show in July.