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Today heralded Raf Simons’ final swan-song for Jil Sander, and what a way to go. The audience got to their feet and cheered as he took his final bow, they continued to applaud emphatically until he reappeared on the runway, clearly overcome with emotion. The reaction of the assembled crowd is testament to what Simons has achieved during his six and a half years at the house. He has deftly bridged the task of staying true to the brand’s DNA whilst stamping it with his own unique handprint. Today, a catwalk littered with clear perspex boxes filled with pretty floral arrangements set the scene for a beguiling parade of pastel dresses and coats, beautiful in their purity and elegance. In a week of speculation, Simons, a master of colour and tailoring, let his clothes do the talking. Enveloping coats draped with graceful finesse and a delicate palette of blush pink, dove grey and fawn, he hinted at life’s fragility. Barely-there slip dresses defied their apparent simplicity with complex construction; patch-worked pastels in different textures were as luxurious as their were feminine; whilst the closing looks of shiny black PVC and leather provided a much darker and vigorous ending. The melancholic soundtrack of Mazzy Star, Sonic Youth’s cover of the Carpenters’ “Superstar” and Smashing Pumpkins “Tonight Tonight” was pure Raf, and added a personal touch to a deeply poetic goodbye from one of fashion’s truest talents. Bravo Raf!
Text: Caroline Newell
Photography: Mitchell Sams
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