Raf Simons On His Final Jil Sander Collection PLUS A Pregnant Julia Restoin-Roitfeld For i-D Magazine

After a very long year of will-he-won't-he speculation surrounding John Galliano's successor at Dior, Raf Simons - who had just left Jil Sander - was finally announced as the man for the job. Hurrah! we cried. As Paula Reed wrote at the time, we can 'expect Raf Simons to throw the windows open wide and let a fresh breeze of modernity blow through'. And now, for the first time since his appointment as Artistic Director at the French fashion house and as he prepares to make his Dior debut at Paris Haute Couture this July, the designer opens up...

i-D‘s Lights, Camera, Action issue sees Simons shrouded by grey flowers on the cover (how very Dior) and in the accompanying interview, he describes his final collection for Jil Sander as '…very wholesome, very romantic. Kind of like when you’re outside, walking in nature. Beauty isn’t always obvious; you have to search for it. That’s what I find most romantic.' *sighs*

As for his thoughts on fashion, the man of the moment, says: 'Fashion is not there to educate you, but to challenge you. Sometimes I speak with young kids and I have the feeling… not that they have no interest, but that they look at it in a different way. This is the reason I chose to do fashion, to create a dialogue and bring people together.' Bring it on, sir.

Also brilliant: for the second in i-D's set of eight issue covers, Julia Restoin Roitfeld looks every inch the yummy mummy, posing in nothing but a lacy bra and sheer coral cape with her huge baby bump on show (she's due any. day. now). We, naturally, love it - and recommend picking up the issue when it's available to buy from i-Donline.com from 7th May and on shelves 10th May.