Daily Front Row

2011 December 13

Raf Simons for Dior: Rumors Ramp Up

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Raf Simons
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(NEW YORK) Bets on the next Dior designer shifted, at long last, away from Marc Jacobs a month ago, and guesses have run the global gamut of over a dozen potential heirs to John Galliano’s title. The focus is now on Raf Simons, creative director at Jil Sander since 2005—and this isn’t the first time as of late that the Belgian designer has made the short list for a chic job. Back in September, Simons, 43, was highlighted as a likely successor to Stefano Pilati at Yves Saint Laurent, despite the fact that Simons renewed his contract with Jil Sander in June.

Simons got his start in furniture design, building upon his studies in industrial design, before foraying into fashion, citing Martin Margiela as his inspirational impetus for the shift into wearable aesthetics. In 1995, Simons launched his eponymous menswear line, and has just a few (well-received) collections-worth of experience with womenswear under his belt from his current stint at Jil Sander. If Simons takes the reins at Dior, will the venerable French couture house, originally touted for its tailoring, swap Galliano’s splashy flourishes for Simons’ sleeker, more refined flavor of chic? A question worth pondering—once, or if, the ink dries on those contracts.
ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV