MILAN - Cartier owner Richemont has emerged unexpectedly as a serious contender to acquire the Italian luxury shoemaker Gianvito Rossi, potentially beating competition from Renzo Rosso’s OTB, industry and banking sources said this week. It is not clear if Gianvito Rossi’s financial advisers Rothschild & Co have encouraged talks with Richemont to get OTB to pay a higher price, or if the Swiss group will really land a deal, the sources said. The talks were taking place as Richemont’s biggest fashion brand Chloé announced on Thursday it was parting ways with designer Gabriela Hearst after three years. Miss Tweed was first to report in December that the time had come for the group to find a replacement for her, despite Chloé’s sales being on the rise. The American-Uruguayan designer was proving difficult to work with and finding it hard to strike the right balance between her responsibilities for the French label and her own brand, as well as life in New York.