Raf Simons, now the former creative director of Jil Sander, received a standing ovation this past Saturday at his Milan Fashion Week show. After seven years of heading the fashion house, the Belgian-born designer officially stepped down yesterday, and is taking his signature Jil Sander designs with him. From posh power-suits to popping peplums, fall fur coats to spring statement florals, Raf Simons was well-known for his consistency, modernity and creativity in every collection he designed for the fashion house.
His last women’s show centered around super sleek pastels that perfectly matched the runway’s beautiful flower motif. At the very end, he broke into tears as the audience applauded him for a good five minutes – a crowd that included Anna Wintour and Hamish Bowles from VOGUE, Suzy Menkes from the International Herald Tribute, and Cathy Horyn from the New York Times (who helped break the news of Raf’s career change).
We can only hope that Raf Simon’s next venture will be just as amazing as Jil Sander – and we’re not-so-secretly hoping that’ll be the new creative director of Christian Dior, as many rumour mills have been speculating.
Take a look at the gallery below for a look back at Raf Simons’ time at Jil Sander, including runway looks from throughout the years.
[T Magazine; Huffington Post Canada]
