Nicolas Ghesquière is the new artistic director of womenswear at , it has just been announced.
The ex-Balenciaga designer was the favourite to step into the role, which was vacated by Marc Jacobs in October following a 16-year tenure.
'Louis Vuitton is thrilled to welcome Nicolas Ghesquière as artistic director of the women's collections,' ran today's tweet from @LouisVuitton, confirming the appointment.
Ghesquière starts with immediate effect, and will show his first collection for Vuitton for autumn/winter 2014 in March.
'Louis Vuitton has always incarnated for me the symbol of ultimate luxury, innovation and exploration,' he said. 'I am very honoured of the mission that I am entrusted with, and proud to join the history of this great maison. We share common values and a vision.'
Vuitton said that the designer will bring 'a modern creative vision to the houses womens collections, building on the values of refinement, savoir faire and extreme quality'.
'For all the names that were out there, there was only really one that chimed with the Vuitton brand, and that was Ghesquière,' says Rebecca Lowthorpe, ELLE assistant editor and editor of ELLE Collections. 'He is the ultimate modern designer, possibly the most inspiring designer of his generation, and that the biggest name in luxury goods should get him is a marriage made in fashion heaven.
'We can only hold our breath for the next exciting episode. It's history meets modernity; it's perfect. The question is, what will he do with the Vuitton archives? Resurrect, or reject them?'
