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Jan 12
Today is the birthday of the Belgian fashion designer - Raf Simons. On this special day, let’s revisit his career highlights in 7 main points.
Contrary to what you might think, Raf Simons didn’t start with a career in fashion. Before that, he interned as a furniture designer at the design studio of Walter Van Beirendonck.
The idea of transitioning into fashion design came to him during the Martin Margiela show during Paris Fashion Week in 1991 he got the chance to attend. He was encouraged to pursue his dream by Linda Loppa, head of the fashion department at Antwerp Royal Academy where he was studying, and so Raf Simons became a self-taught menswear designer.
Raf Simons launched his eponymous label in 1995 and the first Fall/Winter runway in Paris in 1997. In a short time, the brand gained fame for revolutionizing menswear with its anti-fashion spirit, focus on youth culture, and using music and art in the creative process. His fashion shows were characterized by the rejection of traditional masculinity codes people were used to, as we have seen, for example, at his Spring-Summer 1998 “Black Palms” show with androgynous-looking models (for the very first time, he casted teenagers to the runway through radio advertisements!).
However, the designer decided to take a sabbatical in March 2000, but he was back the next year, following a new deal with Belgian manufacturer, Gysemans Clothing Industry. Raf Simons made a strong come-back that year with the Sall-Winter 2001 “Riot! Riot! Riot!” fashion show, which is one of his most memorable ones, marking a tendency for showing his rebellious spirit through the staging and the clothes he used.
In June 2005, Raf by Raf Simons was launched, which was sold at a lower price point, but in 2011 it got replaced by Raf Simons 1995, a diffusion line incorporating elements from Simons’ early collections.
Besides managing his own brand, Raf Simons was the creative director at Jil Sander from 2005 to 2012, and then at Dior from 2012 to 2015. He also worked as Chief Creative Officer at Calvin Klein between 2016 and 2018. During his time there, Simons received the menswear and womenswear designer of the year award from the CFDA. Finally, Raf Simons has been the co-creative director of Prada since April 2020, working in collaboration with Miuccia Prada “with equal responsibilities for creative input and decision making,” the company said.
On November 21st of 2022, Raf Simons announced via its social media channels that the SS23 collection would be the last collection from the label before he closes it down after the end of the season.
What is your favorite moment from the designer’s career? Comment below ❤️