Raf Simons is re-examining and re-contextualising the past, allowing a new generation of the label’s fans will get their hands on some of its most iconic garments.
Described as a “reexamination and recontextualisation of the past, for and within the present”, the initiative will see the Antwerp-based label reissue 100 of its best-hit pieces from its hallowed archives.
For its 25th anniversary, Raf Simons is celebrating with the launch of Raf Simons Archive Redux. With the future of fashion looking out-of-focus, it’s only expected that we look back through years of iconic fashion.
We still are unaware of which iconic pieces will be available but the precise selection of pieces is set to be revealed later this month, with deliveries to arrive in stores by December this year.
While we have to wait to see what will be “re-examined and re-contextualised” we can expect an offering of iconic pieces that are a well-rounded insight into Raf Simons quarter-century period at the forefront of the fashion industry. Showcasing “different eras, obsessions, and creative approaches”, with each piece a living artefact of fashion history in its own right.
Last week 5 million people signed up to try to buy Dior Men’s new Air Jordan sneakers—imagine the interest a Raf Simons sale could generate. Everybody wants some of Raf Simons, and yet so few actually get it. Simons, whose pieces are some of the most sought-after on the secondary menswear market. The fervour around his vintage clothes has helped turn the secondary menswear market into a micro-economy of its own.
In a press release for Raf Simons Archive Redux notes, “Both a creative and commercial gesture, Archive Redux offers the new generation of Raf Simons followers a chance to experience these garments for the first time. A nostalgia for the unknown.”
Although we still don’t know anything about what’s happening with the SS21 collection, we know that Raf won’t be showing as part of this week’s first-ever virtual Paris Fashion Week. But a new collection will be revealed in autumn. How it will be shown still remains to be seen.
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