Louis Vuitton announces Madonna follow-up

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Confirming earlier rumors, french luxury giant Louis Vuitton has unveiled next February's ad campaign to the press, starring Madonna 'replacement,' supermodel Lara Stone.

According to Women's Wear Daily, Antoine Arnault, Vuitton's communication director, said: "After two seasons with such a huge star, [artistic director] Marc [Jacobs] decided to take a breather and work with a model - and not just any model. It's the choice of a new supermodel."

Fashion insiders know, however, that Madonna was tapped earlier this year to star in Italian Vuitton competitor Dolce & Gabbana's ads, a choice many deemed more fitting for the superstar.

Madonna, who fronted the French luxury brand's campaigns for two seasons, has been a close friend of Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana since the early 1990s and will star in their upcoming spring/summer fashion campaign.

The series of images to promote the collection, which is said to focus on corsets, has already been shot by star photographer Steven Klein and will be released early next year.

Another Steven, Meisel in this case, shot Louis Vuitton's new spring campaign that WWD describes as 'New Age,' while Arnault said the "fresh, summery, whimsical, young and optimistic" look would "hopefully coincide with brighter economic times."

The ads will start appearing in fashion media from February.