Raf Simons - Designer, Co-Creative Director of Prada

[Bonbonenata]

I can't help thinking it's a big compromise. So many designers rejected Dior's offer and Raf was fired so it's clear to me that's why he is now in Dior. I wish he would make great collections. I believe he's a good designer.

 

[Marc10]

^but that isn't the only thing dior himself represented. he was a master at volume,cutting,manipulations of material.....these are also attributes raf simons is extremely talented at. and kitsch....raf can do kitsch very well too. do you not remember his own collections? the influence from youth culture? and who knows,this could bring out another side of raf completely unexpected as he did at jil sander.

Exactly. I think because Galliano made such a big mark in the house, sometimes people actually forget what Christian Dior truly stand for: sophistication, femininity, elegance and great silhouettes. Raf can do all those ellements perfectly, not in a extravagant way like Galliano did, but in his on vision and that's what's exciting. And he is an extremely versatile designer, just look at his body of work: from street-rebel-youth in the 90s, to clean silhouettes, to sculptural shapes, to unusual use of fabrics, to 50s-couture inspired collections. And with Dior's resources and archives, he'll grow and improve even more.

 

[Squizree]

Yeah, it's not like designers are al 2-Dimensional and can't work outside the aesthetic they've become famous for. Especially someone like Raf Simons, who has surely shown creative versatility.

 

[Scott]

and i think that's the big issue here....we've sort of defined the house of dior by galliano's aesthetics yet we've somehow lost the man himself....his archives.....the spirit he built the house on. people may see the ostentatiousness on the surface but there is more depth than. in fact dior was quite the rebel in his day....very akin to raf when he first began.....in the way dior caused quite the controversy for his use of amount of materials in one look,going against the societal ideals at the time.

 

[lady stardust]

Great choice..and I think it's good for fashion, Simons is a brilliant designer.

 

[Marc10]

First Glimpse of Raf Simons' Dior View

RAF’S DIOR VIEW: What’s a minimalist going to do at Christian Dior? That’s a question Raf Simons has heard plenty since Monday, when the French fashion house appointed him its new couturier. “I don’t think it’s wrong to call me a minimalist. It’s wrong to call me a minimalist only,” noted the Belgian designer, who had been the creative director of Jil Sander in Milan since 2005. “I am also a romantic person.”

Indeed, if “purism” was the guiding light and primary inspiration for Simons at Jil Sander, it will be “femininity” at the house of Dior, “because it’s beautiful, endless and permanent,” he said. “When I’m married to a house, I will fully embrace its original intention, its original heritage and meaning.

“I’m interested in creativity, the evolution of creativity and the relationship between creativity and the times we live in,” continued Simons, who was to arrive in Paris today to start work on his first Dior collection — the winter couture he is to show in July.

He declined to give any precise indication of what he’s plotting, but elaborated on his affinity for the French house and its founder — up to and including a penchant for plant life and the outdoors. “Even if I travel to Los Angeles, you will always see me going to the hills, to the ocean or to Palm Springs,” he said, listing orchids, tulips and roses among his favorite blooms.

Simons lauded Dior, who died in 1957 only a decade after founding his Paris couture house, for producing such an impressive “body of work” in such a short time span. “The shape evolution was constant, it was very revolutionary,” he said. “The impact was immediate.”

What’s more, Dior’s heyday falls smack in the midcentury period with which Simons has always held a strong affinity. The designer relates to the optimism for the future in the postwar era, which was reflected in design, including the then-radical full-skirted New Look that Dior pioneered.

“I wouldn’t go to that place if I only had minimalism in mind,” he said. “I’m very aware of what the environment is about.”

wwd

Looks like Raf agree with us.

 

[GERGIN]

CaNnOt WaIt TiLl SpRiNg AnD sUmMeR tWo ThOuSaNd AnD tHiRtEeN!1!1

 

[liberty33r1b]

dior.com/magazine

On Monday, the house of Christian Dior announced the appointment of the new artistic director for its Haute Couture, ready-to-wear and accessories collections.


The rumours had been circulating non-stop, contradicting one another at every turn and fuelling high-flying parlour games among the chic fashion elite. To be sure, the information was charged with intrigue: who would become the successor to Christian Dior, the designer who would helm the house's Haute Couture and women's ready-to-wear collections?
The news landed Monday at 7pm Paris time: Raf Simons had been chosen to perpetuate the Dior style. The designer, who has been hailed by the press as one of the most talented of fashion world, began his career in 1995. He started with a menswear collection that became a regular highlight of the Paris men's fashion week. His style is precise, incisive, rigorous, architectural. In this sense, he connects with the tailored spirit of Christian Dior's original collections. But he also revealed great finesse and sensitivity in the work he did in women's ready-to-wear. The glamour that is Dior will find in him a worthy successor to the "New Look", as Simons himself has expressed a particular interest for the period between 1947 and 1957, the decade that spans the house's founding to the couturier's premature death. In addition to sharing the vocation of couturier, Christian Dior and Raf Simons have another point in common: art. Dior collected art and frequented the artists of his day; between 1928 and 1934, he even joined forces with two friends to open a couple of art galleries. Simons is also truly passionate about art: he is a regular at the Frieze Art Fair in London, collects contemporary works and he stresses that he considers, just as Christian Dior did, that his career as a designer was impelled upon them, both self-educated designers, giving another dimension to his vocation: Art.
"I am delighted to join this great house," Simons stated in a short press release. "For me, Christian Dior has always been the greatest of all couturiers. The house of Dior is the symbol of absolute elegance. I have a profound respect for its unique know-how. I am fully aware of the honour and responsibility that are entrusted to me today as director of creation for the world's most famous French brand."
Raf Simons will present his first collection during the Haute Couture fashion week in July because, as has been the case throughout Dior's history, couture is at the heart of the house's creation.

 

[GERGIN]

dior.com/magazine

On Monday, the house of Christian Dior announced the appointment of the new artistic director for its Haute Couture, ready-to-wear and accessories collections.


The rumours had been circulating non-stop, contradicting one another at every turn and fuelling high-flying parlour games among the chic fashion elite. To be sure, the information was charged with intrigue: who would become the successor to Christian Dior, the designer who would helm the house's Haute Couture and women's ready-to-wear collections?
The news landed Monday at 7pm Paris time: Raf Simons had been chosen to perpetuate the Dior style. The designer, who has been hailed by the press as one of the most talented of fashion world, began his career in 1995. He started with a menswear collection that became a regular highlight of the Paris men's fashion week. His style is precise, incisive, rigorous, architectural. In this sense, he connects with the tailored spirit of Christian Dior's original collections. But he also revealed great finesse and sensitivity in the work he did in women's ready-to-wear. The glamour that is Dior will find in him a worthy successor to the "New Look", as Simons himself has expressed a particular interest for the period between 1947 and 1957, the decade that spans the house's founding to the couturier's premature death. In addition to sharing the vocation of couturier, Christian Dior and Raf Simons have another point in common: art. Dior collected art and frequented the artists of his day; between 1928 and 1934, he even joined forces with two friends to open a couple of art galleries. Simons is also truly passionate about art: he is a regular at the Frieze Art Fair in London, collects contemporary works and he stresses that he considers, just as Christian Dior did, that his career as a designer was impelled upon them, both self-educated designers, giving another dimension to his vocation: Art.
"I am delighted to join this great house," Simons stated in a short press release. "For me, Christian Dior has always been the greatest of all couturiers. The house of Dior is the symbol of absolute elegance. I have a profound respect for its unique know-how. I am fully aware of the honour and responsibility that are entrusted to me today as director of creation for the world's most famous French brand."
Raf Simons will present his first collection during the Haute Couture fashion week in July because, as has been the case throughout Dior's history, couture is at the heart of the house's creation.

It seems he was prepared after doing a "Couture Trilogy" from his s/s 11 to s/s 12 collection

 

[Pricciao]

it's that soon? (barely) three months for a couture collection to prepare is insane

 

[Squizree]

He's starting off with a bang isn't he? Will be quite the amusement I think

....I wonder what Galliano thinks of Raf taking over.

 

[Scott]

and that's too bad that people only see raf as one thing or define him strictly on his signature aesthetics alone....which,imo,if you get right down to it,he was more than mere minimalism. i don't buy that for one moment. but people forget too that raf has a great deal of pedigree behind him as well and beyond his signature aesthetic. the boldness he witnessed from his stint at gaultier,or the purity he gained from margiela(who in his own unconventional way was rather romantic himself)....there is more to him than meets the eye.

hell,raf could actually do like what we've see from somebody like bruno pieters. and HC....i'll be very much looking forward to that.

 

[GivenchyHomme]

People seem to forget that his first tenure into Womenswear was for Jil Sander, a minimal house. He obviously has the ability to innovate and adapt to the times. Dior is a new chapter in his life and career just as Jil Sander was and look how well it worked out for him.

His innovation is his genius:

I believe he'll be able to adapt to Dior and create more extraordinary things.

style.com

 

[CommanderTMugler]

it's that soon? (barely) three months for a couture collection to prepare is insane

It's Dior, all he has to create is a few voluminous gowns, add a belt and viola! Mission accomplished, plus this house can only go up from here (at least one would expect so)

 

[GERGIN]

It's Dior, all he has to create is a few voluminous gowns, add a belt and viola! Mission accomplished, plus this house can only go up from here (at least one would expect so)

 

[Boomer]

And, the forgotten man in this whole scenario....I would be happy to see Raf ask him to stay on...

There's been much ado about Raf Simons's appointment at Dior, but let's not forget about Bill Gaytten, who gamely assumed the house's creative director duties after John Galliano's infamous exit more than a year ago. A gifted craftsman who had worked as Galliano's right-hand man for years, Gaytten wasn't a well-known name in the fashion industry when he took over, and many critics believed he wasn't up for the job. Indeed, his first show, the house's winter couture collection, was a disastrous mess of clownish headpieces and awkward frills. But Gaytten learned quickly, and his five subsequent collections for the house were relatively well-received.
Although he may lack Galliano's flair for courageous, dramatic statements, Gaytten managed to produce consistently pretty, wearable, and Dior–appropriate clothes. Meanwhile, the house's sales boomed over the past year, leading many to wonder if Gaytten's "interim" status might become permanent. He certainly seemed to want the position, and one couldn't help but feel sorry for him every time a new rumor about his replacement made the rounds — some even fueled by his own boss at LVMH, Bernard Arnault. Between Galliano's disgraced departure and the fashion world's wary scrutiny, poor Gaytten deserves to be commended for doing fine work under tremendous pressure.

There's been no mention of Gaytten's role at Dior now that Simons has taken over, which seems odd. He remains the head designer at Galliano's eponymous label, so he still has plenty on his plate. (In the meantime, he might enjoy some time out of the spotlight — or at least a well-deserved vacation.)


NewYorkMagazine

 

[JuiceMajor]

July couture week seems so far away! Is quite a debut for him!

 

[Pitoti]

First look?

Via: CocoBis Facebook

 

[tatouejeremie]

First look?

Via: CocoBis Facebook

i almost got a heart attack, but that's from the resort collection

http://www.style.com/slideshows/2012/fashionshows/2013RST/CDIOR/RUNWAY/010m.jpg

 

[mistress_f]

thank god. if raf ends up doing something like that i'll be beyond disappointed