Raf Simons says he's working on turning Dior into a brand that everyone in the world will recognize as soon as they see it — sort of like Chanel.

"The Chanel woman? I don't even need to see, I smell her from round the corner, but I don't recognize the Dior woman," Simons said in an interview for the January issue of Vogue UK. "I want to work on that fast. Chanel has the deux-pièces with the pockets, or the bouclé, but what is it for Dior nowadays? I can't say."

Eventually, Simons wants Dior to be something that appeals to a wide variety of people.

"Dior's ultimate obsession is that he wanted [the public] to wear it. I want them to wear it on the street," he said. "If it doesn't relate to the outside, then it would be very theatrical for me."

That mission — to make serious and wearable clothing for Dior — has guided Simons's short tenure at the French fashion house, and even extends to his couture collections.

"I want to get away from couture just being done for a picture, or for a single moment on the red carpet," he said in an interview with Vogue Australia last month. "I want to try and convince women that couture can be worn in the day and that there's a reality and a relevance there, because that's what Mr. Christian Dior wanted. In my opinion, Christian Dior was never, ever theater."

Photo: Simons photographed by David Sims for the December issue of Vogue.

These stories and more in our daily news roundup.

• Cat's out of the bag. The tweeting mastermind behind Choupette's Diary has finally been revealed. [Fashionista]
• Major staff shakeups at Ford. The agency has let go of its women's division head Paul Rowland and his partner, agent Mohammad Fajar. The two are accused of being "too demanding for the agency." [Page Six]
• Is this editor the next street-style and design star to watch? [The New York Times]
• Pantone has revealed its 2013 color of the year. [The Wall Street Journal]
• Drouot Richelieu is set to auction off iconic fashion pieces as part of its L'Homme et son Univers sale. Among the lot: an Emporio Armani shoe worn by Lady Gaga. [WWD]
• H&M customers will now be able to trade unwanted clothing items for store vouchers. [Telegraph]
• Club Monaco has been Coveteur'd. [Fashionologie Inbox]
• Anna Wintour uses Cartier stationery to write her thank-you notes. [Mod Mods]
• Remember the study that found toxic chemicals in the fabric of popular clothing brands? Mango has pledged to eliminate all hazardous substances from its production lines by Jan. 1, 2020. [Mango]
• From the mouths of Angels: men should never wear baggy bootcut jeans or Speedos — especially when trying to seduce ladies. [GQ]

Source: Twitter User ChoupettesDiary

Do magazine editors really have that much disdain for people who got famous online? Tommy Ton thinks they do.

"You can sense it when you're going to the shows," Ton said in an interview with The Talks. "You feel like they belittle you in a way. Not intentionally, but you can feel like they're thinking, 'Oh, you've cheated the system. I don't feel like you earned your spot here sitting in the show.' Maybe that's just me being a bit more insecure. And if I still feel that way in my position I can only imagine what a new blogger feels like coming into this."

Ton added that even famous denizens of the Internet take flak for not having risen through the ranks at traditional publications.

"There are negative connotations to being a blogger," he said. "Regardless of whatever success you've had, when you meet someone they are like, 'Oh, you're that blogger!' And I'm like, 'Yes, that's me, the blogger.' It's a very belittling or demeaning term in some ways. But I think it's also great that there are people like [BryanBoy] who are very comfortable and secure with themselves. He's like, 'Yes, I'm the blogger. And I'm also on America's Next Top Model. What are you going to say about that?'"

Francois-Henri Pinault — CEO of the company that owns Balenciaga — says his newest employee Alexander Wang is exactly what the fashion house needed in a new creative director.

In a Q-and-A with CBS reporter Rebecca Jarvis, Pinault said a combination of Wang's youth, worldview, and talent for design made him the perfect candidate to replace Nicolas Ghesquière.

"Alexander Wang is young and he has a very universal culture," Pinault said. "He has a very strong talent not only when it comes to accessible product, but his talent could also be adapted for couture at Balenciaga. It will be a big challenge for him. I like that he's young and based in New York, so we will have more exposure of the brand worldwide. Alexander has this wonderful contemporary brand under his own name and this has nothing to do with Balenciaga. We will not change anything in the positioning. We have spent a lot of time determining where the brand is and where we want to stay in terms of being very modern and avant-garde, but still being influenced by the street. Nicolas was one of the best at this."

Wang will no doubt have big shoes to fill, but Pinault said his Asian heritage "was not a criteria for recruitment at all. It was really [a matter of] let's find the right talent, the right skills, the right profile for the reality of the brand. . . We plan to continue to build on what has been built by Nicolas. We needed someone who was capable of coping with that."

Rumors about Anna Wintour being in the running for an ambassadorship are so strong that they've made it all the way back to Washington.

ABC reporter Jake Tapper brought up the rumor — although indirectly — at yesterday's White House press briefing, asking press secretary Jay Carney what the president looks for in an ambassador.

Carney said he was "not going to engage in speculation about possible personnel announcements," adding that the president "looks for talent, wisdom, and character in all of his appointees, and he would do that regardless of the position."

After a few follow-up questions, Tapper jokingly asked whether the president had ever seen The Devil Wears Prada.

Serious speculation that Wintour might be appointed ambassador to the UK or France arose last week when Bloomberg reported Wintour's campaign fundraising efforts for President Obama made her a top contender for the positions.

While rumors have circulated for years that Wintour would leave Vogue for a post in the diplomatic corps, "two people familiar with the matter" said Obama has considered nominating Wintour for one of the two positions. Wintour was one of Obama's top campaign bundlers in 2012, raising over $500,000 for his reelection effort through dinners and other events. The Runway to Win line of campaign merchandise — which Wintour spearheaded — raised another $40 million.

Wintour is said to be in competition with two other top bundlers, businessmen Matthew Barzun and Marc Lasry. If Obama does nominate Wintour and she makes it through Senate confirmation for either position, she'd replace Ambassador Louis Susman in London or Ambassador Charles Rivkin in Paris. Obama nominated both men for their positions after he was elected president in 2008, and neither is expected to take on a second term.

But would Wintour really leave fashion for politics? A Vogue spokeswoman told Bloomberg that Wintour is "happy with her current job," and friends of Wintour's have said in the past that she "has absolutely no interest in an ambassadorship."

All the bits fit to print here, in our daily news roundup.