Well, this is interesting. Just days after the French magazine Nouvel Observeur erroneously proclaimed Christopher Kane the new designer of Balenciaga, causing to Twitter to erupt with speculation, today we received word from Versace that the collaboration between Kane and Versus is ending. After six seasons designing Versace’s second line, Kane’s departure comes as a surprise. And it seems Nouvel Obs was on to something after all.

According to the Versace spokesperson, Versus will be repositioned under Donatella Versace’s leadership. “There will be collaborations with young designers, stylists, and creatives from different walks of life, to develop capsule collections, co-branding projects, limited editions,” says the statement. “This pool of young creative talents will replace the collaboration with Christopher Kane who will focus on the development of his own line.”

Furthermore, “Digital is the new, key word that describes the Versus tribe. Versus is the young heart, soul and spirit of Versace… New collections to be introduced via presentation-events, which won’t necessarily coincide with the traditional catwalk format during fashion weeks. The first of such events is planned for March/April 2013 in New York.”