Jil Sander has confirmed she’s returning to her namesake company following Thursday’s news of Raf Simons’ departure from the label.

“I am very happy and excited to be back. It feels like coming home after a brief journey,” Sander said in a statement February 24.

A release announced February 23 that Simons will step down as creative director at the Milan-based label Monday, February 27 — two days after presenting his final Jil Sander collection during Milan Fashion Week.

The rumor mill went into overdrive following the announcement, with Sander now confirming what many had been suspecting.

Simons has been creative director at Jil Sander since 2005, with the ball gowns and bridal wear he created for the label’s Spring/Summer 2012 offering a new aesthetic for a label so well known for its minimalism.

In the February 24 statement Sander, who resigned from the label in 2004, explained her confidence in the label’s future look.

“The Jil Sander brand is ingrained in my very being, naturally, my vision of sophisticated, truly modern design stayed with me, as vivid as on the first day,” said Sander, who founded her eponymous label in 1968.

“Paradigms change and evolve from season to season, but the heart of a brand doesn’t alter. It will be a great challenge and a greater joy to design Jil Sander’s contemporary identity.”

Last year Sander parted ways with high street retailer Uniqlo after overseeing the successful +J line there since 2009.