Haider Ackermann probably won't feel that bad that Karl Lagerfeld no longer has him in mind to replace him at Chanel when he retires. Karl, who told Numéro in the fall he wanted to see Haider take his job, recently told W this is not the case at all, though he could see Haider take Riccardo Tisci's job at Givenchy if Tisci replaces John Galliano at Christian Dior:

What are your thoughts on Dior? Who should take over?
Well I’m not a consultant there, but I think Riccardo Tisci would be good, and then Haider Ackermann at Givenchy—not because they are friends of mine, but because they are good.

But I read that you wanted Haider to succeed you at Chanel?
Not especially. It’s not his world I don’t think.

Haider may have known Karl would take it back, since he said shortly after the Numéro interview was published that he saw Karl's comment as merely a compliment, nothing more. But at least Haider and Karl are buds, unlike the Balmain folks, who are now in a weird spot following the departure of Christophe Decarnin, reportedly due to a mental breakdown. W pressed Karl about the label:

What about Balmain?
Forget about it! This was a job done by a fashion editor. I don’t even know the name of the man who did it, so don’t ask me about that.

And in unrelated Karl Lagerfeld beauty news, the designer reveals he does not cut his hair because he's afraid it won't grow back, and though his daily 'do takes "less than five seconds," he doesn't do it himself: "No, I have someone who comes to the house and washes it, puts in the dry shampoo, and takes care if it because I have no time." But of course. This is a man who so famously enjoys communicating by fax that, he says, "There are people who only have a fax because of me."

THIRTY MINUTES WITH KARL LAGERFELD [Editor's Blog/W]