Elbaz confirmed to FWD that he has been in contact with Lanvin, but stressed that he has not yet sealed any deal with the house.

"For the moment nothing has been done. I haven't signed anything. I hope it will happen. I would love it to happen. It's great a house," Elbaz told FWD.

Elbaz, 40, declined any other comment, and would not say whether he had met Shaw-Lan Wang, the Taiwanese media baroness who acquired Lanvin last summer from French beauty conglomerate L'Oreal.

Lanvin's recently appointed president Jacques Levy did not return our calls and a house spokeswoman declined any comment. However, she did confirm that Lanvin would make an official announcement sometime between October 10 and 15.

Jeanne Lanvin founded Lanvin in 1890. However, the house has been something of a sleeping beauty since the early 80s. Since L'Oreal acquired its initial interest in Lanvin in 1990, the house has gone through four designers without ever finding a clear focus.

Elbaz, an Israeli-American who began his career assisting Geoffrey Beene, is one of the best-liked designers in the industry. He first garnered attention after he was appointed designer of Guy Laroche in the mid-1990s and produced a series of commercially and critically acclaimed collections.

Elbaz subsequently became women's ready-to-wear designer of YSL Rive Gauche, but left that house after it was acquired by Gucci Group in late 1999. His most recent position was designing Krizia Top in Milan. After presenting a superb opening collection there, he ended his involvement after failing to agree to terms.