Breaking News: Raf Simons to take over at Dior

At last! After a year in limbo, Dior have finally appointed a replacement for John Galliano – and it’s a surprising choice! Belgian Raf Simons, formerly at Jil Sander, is to fill Galliano’s big shoes, the New York Times just confirmed.

To say I’m a bit surprised is an understatement. Over the past year, some big names like Marc Jacobs and Alber Elbaz were thrown into the rumour mill, so the relatively “unknown” (outside the fashion crowd, that is) Simons is an interesting choice. He is, after all, the man who gave Jil Sander the clean, minimalist aesthetic it has today. Dior, on the other hand, became more known for its extravagant, theatrical designs under Galliano, so it will be interesting to see how Simons will adapt to Dior, or whether Dior will adapt to Simons.

According to the NYT, his first collection at Dior will be in July at the fall haute couture shows. Personally, I’m excited. Not just because I’m Belgian, but mostly because Galliano’s Dior really wasn’t my cup of tea. In fact, I only started taking notice of the label again in the past 2 seasons, after Galliano left. Simons is under the radar, low-key, definitely not a famewhore – in fact, he could not be more different than Galliano if they tried, but perhaps that’s the point. I’ll miss him at Jil Sander, but I look forward to seeing how Simons can get the label back on top again.

What do you think of Raf Simons for Dior? Yay or nay?