Woah! Marc Jacobs to Dior?

Ever since the John Galliano melee earlier this year, which got him booted from the house of Dior, the fashion world has been waiting with baited breath to hear who would step in to replace him. The storied house has taken its time to announce a successor, which has caused a major game of speculation to take place (names like Givenchy's Ricard Tisci and Lanvin's Albert Elbaz have all been rumored to be the heir apparent). The latest news, direct fromWWD, is that Bernard Arnault, one of the heads of Dior's parent company LVMH, is in talks with none other than wunderkind Marc Jacobs to take the reigns. Jacobs already designs his own mainline label in addition to LVMH propery Louis Vuitton, wo Arnault is not only familiar with the designer and his work, but has a proven track record to show that Jacobs equals money in the bank.

While this is all hearsay at this point, the report also suggest that Phoebe Philo, formerly of Chloe and now making major waves by single-handedly reviving Celine, would be next-in-line at Louis Vuitton, should Jacobs take the bait. All parties -- Dior and Jacobs -- are keeping their respective lips zipped for now, but should this be the case, expect some major gasps.