The NY Times has broken the story that Belgian designer Raf Simons (shown above) will replace John Galliano at Dior. According to the Times, talks began in October 2011:
At the time Mr. Simons, 44, was at Jil Sander. But while Mr. Simons is influential, having started the trend for bright colors that has washed over much of the affordable clothing market, and was in discussions in 2010 with the French rival PPR about taking over Yves Saint Laurent, he was not widely seen as a candidate for Dior. His minimalist designs for Jil Sander seemed at odds with Dior’s ultra-femininity. And he is a low-key presence in a business that tends to love Barnum types.
Funny, last week an international investor LVMH (which owns Dior) explained that LVMH let’s each house operate fairly independently and the Dior crew is known for being conservative and slow to take action, but he said that recently there had been a push from above for action and the decision would be coming down very soon. And voila, here the moment is upon us.