Raf Simons at Jil Sander: A Retrospective
When Raf Simons took over at Jil Sander seven years ago, he was merely a little-known Belgian menswear designer with no experience making clothes for women. He got the job because Prada S.p.A., then Jil Sander’s parent company, wanted to preserve the brand’s reputation for pared-down, sculptural suiting, its cash cow at the time. Prada recognized Simons’s suit-making abilities based on his eponymous menswear label (which he kept up throughout his tenure at Jil Sander), and hired him after the label’s founder made her (second) stormy departure in 2005. Simons quickly established himself as a worthy successor, turning out new shapes season after season without losing touch with the label’s spare, streamlined minimalism. Regardless of his next direction (!!!), Simons’s gorgeous body of work at Jil Sander will be a tough act to follow. Take a look at some of the greatest hits from all his womenswear collections (plus a few from his men’s, just for good measure) in our slideshow.
Related:
Confirmed: Raf Simons to Leave Jil Sander
Jil Sander the Designer Returns to Jil Sander the Brand
Jil Sander Confirms Jil Sander’s Return
Fall 2006 RTW At his first-ever womenswear show for Jil Sander — indeed, his first womenswear collection, period — Simons stayed true t...
Fall 2006 RTW At his first-ever womenswear show for Jil Sander — indeed, his first womenswear collection, period — Simons stayed true to the label's signature minimalistic yet bold shapes. He also proved that he wasn't afraid to play with exaggerated volume.
Spring 2007 RTW For his second womenswear collection, Simons busted out those billowing, brightly colored monochromatic dresses that everyone ass...
Spring 2007 RTW For his second womenswear collection, Simons busted out those billowing, brightly colored monochromatic dresses that everyone associates with him today. "I wanted energy," he told journalists at the show.
Fall 2007 RTW This collection arguably cemented Simons's role as a major up-and-comer. Cathy Horyn wrote in her review for the Times, "On Tu...
Fall 2007 RTW This collection arguably cemented Simons's role as a major up-and-comer. Cathy Horyn wrote in her review for the Times, "On Tuesday a little-known Belgian designer named Raf Simons had the full attention of the fashion world. Mr. Simons's collection for Jil Sander, his third since becoming creative director 18 months ago, was perfect. It will make everything else, I bet, seem a little contrived, a little clunky, a little silly." Tilda Swinton later wore this silver dress on the red carpet.
Spring 2008 RTW Simons introduced fun tulle detailing in this collection, but also: color-blocking! Little did we know how huge this would become.
Fall 2008 Menswear Simons was reportedly hired at Jil Sander because the label's trim, simple suits (for both men and women) were its biggest sel...
Fall 2008 Menswear Simons was reportedly hired at Jil Sander because the label's trim, simple suits (for both men and women) were its biggest sellers, and Simons' aptitude for suit-making was evident from his eponymous menswear label. For Jil Sander menswear, he stuck to his spare, expert tailoring and played with cool graphic prints.
Fall 2008 RTW Jil Sander's original signature silhouettes included exaggerated cowl-necks and voluminous geometric shapes. Simons nailed both.
...
Fall 2008 RTW Jil Sander's original signature silhouettes included exaggerated cowl-necks and voluminous geometric shapes. Simons nailed both.
Spring 2009 RTW This collection, full of cutouts and fringe, marked a slinky departure from the traditional Jil Sander aesthetic. Although it's n...
Spring 2009 RTW This collection, full of cutouts and fringe, marked a slinky departure from the traditional Jil Sander aesthetic. Although it's not the kind of look Simons is known for, it shows that he's capable of branching out. He explained at the time, "Jil Sander must always be pure, and I'm aware of making any reference minimal, but I also want to show my freedom to be inspired by the moment."
Fall 2009 Menswear Simons remains one of the few menswear designers who make modern, innovative clothes — sculpted wool jackets with multico...
Fall 2009 Menswear Simons remains one of the few menswear designers who make modern, innovative clothes — sculpted wool jackets with multicolored panels, for example — that don't cross the line into weird.
Fall 2009 RTW This season's big hit was the sculptural ruffle, rendered in graphic black and white.
Spring 2010 RTW Simons's edgy hip ruffles and tulle panels paved the way for Stella McCartney's wildly popular curvy cutouts and t...
Spring 2010 RTW Simons's edgy hip ruffles and tulle panels paved the way for Stella McCartney's wildly popular curvy cutouts and today's peplum craze.
Fall 2010 RTW An underacclaimed aspect of Simons's womenswear is that even his most conceptual designs — this one-sleeved coat, for instance — we...
Fall 2010 RTW An underacclaimed aspect of Simons's womenswear is that even his most conceptual designs — this one-sleeved coat, for instance — were sensible and comfortable. His collections never left anyone clutching their pearls about whether the models would make it safely down the catwalk.
Spring 2011 RTW This collection, arguably the apex of his career at Jil Sander, garnered gushing reviews and spawned hundreds of knockoff looks f...
Spring 2011 RTW This collection, arguably the apex of his career at Jil Sander, garnered gushing reviews and spawned hundreds of knockoff looks from the Zaras of the world. It also kicked off two huge trends that are still going strong: color-blocking (seen also in his spring 2008 collection, among others) and peplum. “He’s the only one putting out new shapes,” said Emmanuelle Alt, then the fashion director at French Vogue.
Fall 2011 Menswear Okay, so this was basically a wintery menswear version of the spring 2011 women's collection, but no one was tired of those lo...
Fall 2011 Menswear Okay, so this was basically a wintery menswear version of the spring 2011 women's collection, but no one was tired of those looks yet anyway.
Fall 2011 RTW A somber, more covered-up take on the voluminous shapes from the previous season, which everyone still loved.
Spring 2012 RTW Simons called his second-to-last collection "the last in my couture trilogy," presumably referring to what Horyn called...
Spring 2012 RTW Simons called his second-to-last collection "the last in my couture trilogy," presumably referring to what Horyn called "the couture shapes that the designer [explored in the past two seasons]... the fixed waists, the loose-back jackets." Now that he's rumored for Dior, the couture connotations have an entirely different meaning.
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