RAF SIMONS AND THE DRESS THAT WASN'T THERE

Jil Sander SS 09 as worn by Aloyna Image via nytimes.com

Raf Simons is problematic for many of those tastemakers , specifically stylists who seemed to be stumped by the lack of runway pyrotechnics on his part. What he does is sooooo quiet. I think a lot of people find him too sobering and therefore insufficiently...entertaining. Which is why the emotion his SS 09 collection for Jil Sander has provoked is particularly fascinating to watch. When the first three looks wound their way down the catwalk, the audience is said to have caught its collective breath. Yet when the images of the collection surfaced, the sheer way in which Simon's had completely abstracted a black dress into the fringes and the shadows of a dress was lost. You can see the genius of those first three pieces on video where your eyes struggles to find the silhouette over the black bodysuit. The control, precision and best of all...the private dignity of that image is truly inspirational. It was a spectacular idea, clearly the best in Milan this season thus far because you couldn't dismiss what Simons had done as being "par for the course", the curse that has struck almost every Milan collection thus far. The romantic music ("Camille's Theme" from the Bardot film "Le Mepris") certainly made hearts swell and eyes mist towards the end. But for me I will always treasure the shock of seeing the ghost outlines of those dresses that weren't there. They are collector's item!