Style Check: opportunity knocks for Rodolfo Paglialunga at Jil Sander

It's hard for brands without a figurehead today. With perhaps the exception of Maison Martin Margiela, nearly all luxury fashion labels have given in to having a media savvy creative director who can helm the label in the public eye.

Thus, when news of Jil Sander's newly appointed creative director, Rodolfo Paglialunga, hit last week, many were not so surprised. The brand, built on founder Sander's streamlined, minimal aesthetic, had been experiencing a period of turmoil since Sander's third exit from her eponymous label last October.

When I last spoke to the brand's chief executive Alessandro Cremonesi in February, he was still tight-lipped on whether there would be an incoming replacement for Sander, or whether the label would continue under the aegis of the design studio.

Paglialunga left French fashion label Vionnet in 2011, to the surprise of many, after rebuilding the historical brand. No doubt many hope that he can work wonders at Jil Sander, too.

I liked the design studio's work - last season's serene colours and styles were more than palatable. But there will always be those who want a certain level of pizzazz and a focus; a name and a personality provides a pointof reference for fashion critics and customers alike.

Jil Sander is a label with a strong identity - a purist, minimal look created by a German (which is rare in international fashion) and defined in the last few years by Sander herself, as well as Raf Simons, who helmed the brand for years before moving to Christian Dior.