When Raf Simons, the
talented Belgian creative director at Jil Sander, showed what happened to be
his final Sander collection, he sent out a stand-out dress with fabric and over-weave
of threads (fil de coupe) printed in an icy-yet-tender-neon paisley motif. This for a label that is minimalist down to
its bones. And yes, this little paisley seemed to send a message, maybe
"I'm going to fly away." The dress and a few paisley companions were
magazine features and were also displayed up center in a march of mannequins on
the sales floor at Barney's New York.
Jil Sander was to return to her namesake company next season round.
Shortly after the shows, the even bigger announcement
came. Simons was to become the new
creative director of Dior. And the
"Fashion Chew" began with most fashionistas questioning Dior's
decision. Was it a good fit? They named names they liked more than Simons. What
would become of Dior?
A brilliant analysis by WWD's Miles Socha in the Fall 2012 Collections
magazine spoke to today's role of creative director in fashion brand. Socha is right, brand or image has all the
power right now. He selects a perfect
quote from Karl Lagerfeld: "It's my
job to do the image of the companies, not to go on an ego trip."
I cannot foretell what Simons will present for his first
haute couture Dior collection this July but I am of the belief that both Dior
and Simons are smart enough to stick to image with maybe a wink of what we saw
with the neon paisley. Simons seems to
be all work and little ego.
But isn't it interesting that the designer recruits the
tender-but-powerful paisley to send his little side message? JP
 |
| The little paisley travels well. |
