Fashion's New Prince

Haider Ackermann- the 'new master draper', Karl Lagerfeld's 'heir apparent'- the only designer the Kaiser deems worthy enough to inherit his post at Chanel when he retires.    

“I have a contract for life so it all depends on who I would like to hand it to. At the moment I’d say Haider Ackermann.”- Karl Lagerfeld (Numero)

Known for his draping, layering and strong colour palette, Haider is not a newbie in the fashion business. The Colombian- born designer was adopted by a French family and spent his childhood living and traveling around Africa and Europe. After leaving home in 1994, he studied at Antwerp's Royal Academy and even worked as an intern at John Galliano's office in Paris. With the encouragement and support of Raf Simmons, Haider debuted his first, self- financed, collection in Paris in 2002 to critical acclaim. Eversince then, Ackermann's strength and presence as a designer has gained momentum. And if the rumours doing the rounds in Paris are to believed, he might be taking over the house of Givenchy from  Tisci ( who is rumoured to be taking over Galliano at Dior). Whatever the future holds for Ackermann, I'm sure he is destined for fashion greatness.

 Fall/Winter 2011

 Spring/ Summer 2011

 Fall/Winter 2010

 Ackermann's first and last menswear collection 

Pitti Uomo, Milan 2010

NEXT!

If you've been hiding under a rock for the last five days and have not heard the news (nor seen the video) that has shocked and rocked the fashion world lately,  John Galliano, the Wunderkind; the last of the couturiers; the man responsible for tripling Dior's revenue in the billions since joining the fashion house as Chief Designer 14 years ago, has been fired for making anti- semitic remarks (an offense punishable by law in France) while out drinking in Paris the other night.  Dior does not tolerate bullshit and they don't fuck about either.  Sidney Toledano (Dior's Chief Executive) said in a brief statement-

'I unequivocally condemn the statements made by John Galliano, which are in total contradiction to the longstanding core values of Christian Dior. Because of the particularly odious nature of John Galliano’s behavior and views, in a video made public on Monday, Christian Dior has decided to lay him off at once and has commenced formal dismissal procedures.' 

And so now, the 50 billion dollar question is: WHO will take his place?