Marc Jacobs May Leave LVMH

Marc Jacobs is reportedly in talks to leave Louis Vuitton and launch his own independent business.

Women’s Wear Daily has reported that Vuitton and its parent, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (Paris), are talking to Nicholas Ghesquière about succeeding Jacobs as artistic director.

According to the WWD report, Jacobs would leave Vuitton after 16 years to take his signature brand independent, perhaps through an initial public offering.

Jacobs’ current 10-year contract with Vuitton expires in the next few months. LVMH owns a majority stake in Jacobs’ New York-based operating company, Marc Jacobs International, and one-third of the Jacobs trademarks. Jacobs and Robert Duffy, president of Marc Jacobs International, hold another third each. Those arrangements were made in 1997, when Jacobs became artistic director at Vuitton.

Ghesquière parted ways with Balenciaga last November after 15 years with the Paris fashion house. WWD learned that Ghesquière was approached in recent months by Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. (Yamaguchi, Japan) to collaborate on a line for its Uniqlo chain. But, says WWD, those talks were characterized as preliminary and have ceased