RAF SIMONS

THE MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE RAF SIMONS WANTS TO COMMUNICATE IS PRIDE IN INDIVIDUALITY. FUELLED BY HIS LOVE FOR BOTH REBELLIOUS YOUTH CULTURES AND TRADITIONAL MENSWEAR, HE EMERGED IN FASHION HALFWAY THROUGH THE NINETIES, PRESENTING A RADICALLY DIFFERENT IMAGE OF MASCULINITY. FUSING THE ENERGY AND SINGULARITY OF TEENAGE SUBCULTURES WITH THE SHARPNESS AND PRECISION OF CLASSICAL SARTORIAL CRAFT, THE LOOK PRESENTED BY RAF SIMONS IS BOTH INSPIRED BY AND DESIGNED FOR CONFIDENT OUTSIDERS.

FROM THE FIRST COLLECTION ON, MUSIC, ART, PERFORMANCE, IMAGES, AND WORDS HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL ROLE IN THE WHOLE PACKAGE, SUMMING UP OR RATHER CLARIFYING THE KIND OF WORLD RAF SIMONS WANTS TO PROJECT. ATTITUDES, MOODS, AND STATEMENTS ABOUT INDIVIDUALITY AND INDEPENDENCE ARE THE CORE OF HIS DESIGNS. EQUALLY IMPORTANT IN RAF SIMONS' APPROACH IS THE CONSTANT QUEST FOR INNOVATION. ALTHOUGH ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THE NOW AND TOMORROW, HISTORICAL AND CLASSICAL REFERENCES INSPIRE HIS DESIGNS. THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, WITH HIS SIGNATURE STYLE EVOLVING AND MATURING, KEY ELEMENTS STAY THE SAME: MODERN PROPORTIONS, A CONSTANT RESEARCH FOR FABRICS AND TEXTURES AND ABOVE ALL, THE INTERPLAY OF PURE CONSTRUCTION AND NEW SHAPES WITH THE BODY AND PSYCHE OF THE CONTEMPORARY MAN.

INSPIRED BY ENGLISH SCHOOLS UNIFORMS, MOVIES AND TODAY'S HEADLINES, RAF SIMONS WAS THE FIRST DESIGNER IN THE 1990S TO GIVE MENSWEAR A NEW GRAPHIC PENCIL-SLIM SILHOUETTE. A FAVORITE AMONG THE YOUTH, HE HAS A CULT FOLLOWING AND IS CONSIDERED ICONOCLASTIC. RAF SIMONS IS AN INVENTIVE DESIGNER AND GETS HIS INSPIRATIONS FROM WORLD HEADLINES AND CREATING AN INSPIRING COLLECTION BASED ON THOSE. SINCE 2008, HE HAS COLLABORATED WITH LINDA FARROW, EXPANDING HIS COLLECTIONS WITH BAGS, LEATHER GOODS, FOOTWEAR, AND EYEWEAR. HE ALSO COLLABORATED WITH EASTPAK ON A RANGE OF BACKPACKS AND BAGS, ALSO LAUNCHING A 12-PIECE COLLECTION OF POLO SHIRTS AND KNITWEAR IN 2008 AS PART OF A COLLABORATION WITH FRED PERRY.