Raf Simons

Interviews with Raf Simons are few and far between, but the new creative director of Dior says it's not because he's press-shy. "I don't know where you got the idea that I'm aloof," he says in the December issue of Vogue Australia.

Far from aloof, Simons is almost effusive, touching on everything from John Galliano (he says he doesn't find his designs "relevant") to his vision for Dior's future. He also talks about making the transition from Jil Sander to one of the most coveted jobs in fashion and how he wants to change couture. Highlights from the interview below.

On John Galliano: "I have so much respect for John's technical skill and the fantasy, it's just something that I don't find relevant now, especially when it restricts a woman, because in every other area they have so much freedom now."

On getting the Dior job and his sudden departure from Jil Sander: "I'm not going to lie to you. We [Bernard Arnault, head of LVMH, and Sidney Toledano, president of Dior] had been talking for months about the job, but talks happen all the time in this business. That doesn't mean something is necessarily going to come out of it. . . I felt more like a psychiatrist than a designer in the end [at Jil Sander], just to keep my team's spirits up."

On his final show at Jil Sander: "That final collection was not in any way an audition for the Dior job. It was just something I wanted to do."

On Dior's impact on fashion: "The more I analyzed the pieces, the more I realized how many people have built their careers on Christian Dior's patterns, from Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garcons onwards. What he achieved in 10 years at his house is unprecedented."

On what he's trying to accomplish: "I want to get away from couture just being done for a picture, or for a single moment on the red carpet. I want to try and convince women that couture can be worn in the day and that there's a reality and a relevance there, because that's what Mr. Christian Dior wanted. In my opinion, Christian Dior was never, ever theater."

Photo courtesy of Dior, via Vogue Australia.

Raf Simons has selected 22-year-old actress Jennifer Lawrence as the next face of Dior's iconic Miss Dior handbag, making her the youngest ambassador the brand has ever signed. Her campaign for the bag will appear in March 2013.

"Like everyone else, I first discovered Jennifer Lawrence in the roles she played in action movies," Simons said. "Her youth and her classic beauty, but also her force of character and the complexity she's capable of embodying at such a young age, are, for me, both unique and very moving."

Lawrence, who sat front row at Simons's debut show for Dior in July, and recently appeared on the cover of British Vogue, acknowledged that "it's impossible to be in the industry without getting even the slightest introduction to fashion." She added, "It's such a dream to represent an iconic brand that is synonymous with high fashion."

She's not the only actress who's taken on the role of Miss Dior. Marion Cotillard has been its face since 2008 and will continue working with the brand. Mila Kunis starred in a print and video campaign for the bag this year.

Photo: Jennifer Lawrence wearing Dior at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 8, 2012.

Raf Simons and Hedi Slimane have widely been regarded as rivals thanks to the timing of their appointments at Dior and Yves Saint Laurent, respectively, but how will these newcomers challenge other, more established designers in Paris?

"I think it's something that a lot of people are feeling and thinking about, and I love competition because it moves me forward," said Alber Elbaz during a preview of Lanvin's Spring 2013 show. "You know, I'm not a jealous person. I'm only jealous of people who can eat and don't gain weight. It motivates all of us to work harder and find solutions."

Ron Frasch, chief merchandising officer of Saks Fifth Avenue, put a finer point on how Simons and Slimane will force other designers to push their own boundaries.

"Everyone's going to be looking not to be outshone," he said. "You're talking about supercompetitive designers. Believe me, they're going to want to up their game."

Related: Alber Elbaz Is Glad Designers Don't Hate Each Other Anymore

"There was a time when designers hated other designers," Alber Elbaz said in a recent interview with WSJ. Magazine. "But today there is actually major respect between many of us. We understand each other. We are all going through the same stressful process. Before shows we send each other little cards with congratulations; we send each other flowers. We're kind of a crazy family, but still a family. There are many designers I really respect and love. I love Azzedine (Alaïa). I like Narciso (Rodriguez) and Marc (Jacobs) and Nicolas (Ghesquiére) from Balenciaga. The first collection Raf Simons did for Dior was gorgeous. I'm not jealous of people — I'm only jealous of people who can eat and not gain weight. I respect talent. When I see talent and when I see a good person who comes with the talent, I melt."

Milan Fashion Week's official calendar will have one notable exception this September: Jil Sander.

Instead, according to a report in La Repubblica, Sander will stage two independent showings because this season's calendar couldn't give her an ideal time. Milan Fashion Week is scheduled to run between Sept. 19 to 25, but many of the shows will take place between Sept. 19 and 23 due to fear that buyers and editors will leave Milan early to go to Paris Fashion Week.

"I'm sorry not to have Jil Sander on the calendar," said Mario Boselli, president of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana. "We've been friends a long time and now that the queen of minimalism has returned to design for the brand that bears her name, we would have liked to have her with us."

Sander showed her first collection for the house since 2004 this July during Men's Fashion Week in Milan.

Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

• Roopal Patel, who had been fashion director of Moda Operandi since November 2011, quietly left the position at the beginning of the Summer. Patel has been vacationing in Corsica and Saint-Tropez while considering her next career move. [WWD]
  

• If home is where the heart is, then Joan Smalls's heart is with her family in Puerto Rico. [Vogue]
  

• Diane von Furstenberg will partner with Roxy on a lower-priced line of swimsuits, bags, cover-ups, and other beach essentials. [FabSugar]
  

• Leandra Medine, better known as the Man Repeller, has broken down how her popular style blog makes money. "I have a storefront, but that generates no more than 10 percent. Ads must be 30 percent. Collaborations bring in 60 percent," she says. [Business of Fashion]
  

• Actress Rachel Weisz is the second woman to wear a dress from Raf Simons's premiere collection for Christian Dior in public. [The Cut]
  

• Christian Siriano will open his first store in New York's Nolita neighborhood, just in time for Fashion's Night Out. [Refinery29]
  

• Speaking of store openings, Tadashi Shoji celebrated the opening of its new Shanghai flagship store last week. [Fashionologie Inbox]
  

• Model Jacquetta Wheeler celebrated her nuptials at an ancient English country castle. [Vogue]