Dior has confirmed that Raf Simons has been named creative director at the house, taking the place of John Galliano — who was fired due to his anti-Semitic rant. Simons told the New York Times this afternoon: ‘The first time I heard about the Dior position, I thought “this feels right.”‘
The designer was born in Belgium in 1968 and is best-known for his dramatic career change – from the world of industrial and furniture design to the world of menswear. Simons launched his label in 1995 and, ten years later, in 2005 was appointed creative director of Jil Sander. In February, it was announced that Simons would leave Jil Sander following the label’s autumn/winter 2012-13 women’s collection.
Christian Dior SA is one of the last remaining iconic couture houses, which belongs to Bernard Arnault’s LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. As the creative director, Simons is in the rare position of designing a couture collection in addition to the more commercial ready-to-wear collections.
