It seems like only yesterday that we heard that rapper and fashion connoisseur Kanye West was collaborating with shoe designer Giuseppe Zanotti on a line of sexy women’s shoes, and now another huge industry name is being thrown around for a possible Kanye partnership.
Raf Simons, the brilliant Belgian fashion designer and creative director at Jil Sander, is rumored to be stepping down from the label in order to work with West on his first full collection which is reportedly walking during Fashion Week in September. Dazed & Confused editor David Hellqvist tweeted earlier, “Raf Simons to leave Jil Sander? Rumours, rumours…” and “People are whispering about Veronique Branquinho taking over at Jil Sander and Raf working with a certain gold digging rapper.”
Simons’ collections for Jil Sander have been among our favorites for the last few seasons — Spring 2011 was absolute perfection — so we’d hate to see him leave, but we are excited to see what Kanye is cooking up. With a dream team of Simons, Christine Centenera, Louise Goldin and perhaps shoes by Giuseppe Zanotti, it could be one of the most exciting Fashion Week presentations we’ve seen in ages.
