Dior & the rise of the in-house design team

Since Raf Simons left Dior two months ago, speculation has been rife as to which big name would replace him. But the fashion house has reportedly announced that its new collections will be overseen by Simon’s design team

Raf Simons left Dior in October. High time, surely, for a bells-and-whistles unveiling of a new star designer, ready to put his or her stamp on 2016’s collections. Conventional industry wisdom goes that to stage a show without a designer figurehead is a waste of considerable expense; on the other hand, a house of the status of Dior could never suffer the ignominy of not giving up their prime spot at Paris fashion week.

But according to WWD, Dior has handed responsibility for the next two collections – haute couture, to be shown in January, and ready-to-wear, which presents at Paris Fashion Week in early March – to the design team who worked under Simons.