The Cut and WWD have confirmed that Raf Simons will show his last collection for Jil Sander on Monday amid rumours that Jil Sander herself may once again rekindle the on-off relationship she has had with the label that bears her own name. His official successor is to be announced in a few days.
Naturally, the mind jumps to the possibility that Simons will take over the creative responsibilities for Christian Dior since he was breathlessly rumored to have been tapped for that position a few months ago, though he also turned out to be one in a long line of names that were supposedly all but confirmed for the job. At the time he was thought to be unavailable anyway, but now, Simons is pretty much the only person rumored for the job that is not tied to some other company (besides his own, of course). If that is the case then, yes, our long international nightmare of a designerless Dior will finally be over and we will all be able to sleep at night again. It also raises the question of whether Simons will also take over Dior Homme, a job for which he would be eminently qualified even more than for the women's side. This would push out Kris Van Assche, who has been well liked as the designer there, but has lacked the frisson that his founding predecessor Hedi Slimane was able to conjure, and Simons may be able to re-create.
Of course, Simons could be leaving Sander to focus all of his energies on his own label, and possibly launch his own women's line, which would not be an unreasonable possibility. We expect definitive answers soon.
Confirmed: Raf Simons to Leave Jil Sander (The Cut)
Raf Simons to Exit Jil Sander (WWD)
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