Why is Raf Simons so expensive, and does it hold value on resale?+
Raf Simons is collector-driven menswear, and rarity is the engine of its prices. Pieces from his eponymous label, which he founded in 1995, can command extraordinary sums on the secondary market: a Riot bomber jacket famously sold for 47,000 dollars on Grailed. Mainline pieces hold long-term value best when they are rare; more widely produced collaboration items vary far more.
Is Raf Simons worth buying into?+
It depends what you want. For a wardrobe staple, his designer collaborations are the accessible doorway; for collecting, his runway and archive pieces are where the cultural weight sits. The label is prized for innovative, often youth-culture-referencing design rather than safe basics, so it rewards buyers who care about the ideas behind a garment.
Who is Raf Simons?+
Raf Simons is a Belgian fashion designer, born 12 January 1968 in Neerpelt, Belgium. He trained in industrial and furniture design, graduating from LUCA School of Arts in Genk in 1991, before turning to fashion. He launched his own menswear label in 1995 and has since become one of the most influential designers of his generation.
How did a furniture designer end up in fashion?+
Simons began in furniture design and interned with Walter Van Beirendonck between 1991 and 1993. Van Beirendonck took him to Paris Fashion Week, where Simons saw his first show, Martin Margiela's all-white presentation in 1991, which inspired him to switch to fashion. Encouraged by Linda Loppa of the Antwerp Royal Academy, he became a self-taught menswear designer.
What are the big houses Raf Simons has led?+
Alongside his own label, Simons has held some of fashion's top jobs: creative director at Jil Sander (2005-2012), at Christian Dior (2012-2015), and chief creative officer at Calvin Klein (2016-2018). Since 1 April 2020 he has been co-creative director of Prada, in partnership with Miuccia Prada.
What was Raf Simons' time at Dior known for?+
Simons replaced John Galliano at Dior in 2012, and his debut Haute Couture collection for Fall-Winter 2012 was praised for revisiting Christian Dior's own silhouettes, the A line, the H line and the Bar jacket. His first couture collection there was even the subject of a 2014 documentary, Dior and I.
Why does music run through so much of Raf Simons' work?+
Music is integral to his design language. His collections have referenced figures like Joy Division's Ian Curtis and the Manic Street Preachers' Richey Edwards, and his Fall-Winter 1998 collection, Radioactivity, featured looks modelled after the German electro band Kraftwerk. Youth subcultures and their soundtracks are a recurring source for him.
Are the adidas x Raf Simons Ozweego sneakers significant?+
Very much so. Simons reworked the adidas Ozweego in 2013 and, alongside his wider Adidas collaboration announced for Fall-Winter 2013, helped kick off the chunky-sneaker movement in high fashion. The silhouette became one of his most recognisable designs and a near-guaranteed sell-out at its peak.
What does the Raf Simons 1995 line mean?+
Raf Simons 1995 is a diffusion line that replaced the earlier, lower-priced Raf by Raf Simons in 2011. It draws on elements from Simons's early collections and even extends beyond clothing into homeware such as blankets and cushions, nodding to the year he founded the label.
Is the Raf Simons label still running?+
No. On 21 November 2022, Raf Simons announced that the Spring-Summer 2023 collection would be the last from his eponymous label before he closed it at the end of the season. He continues his work at Prada as co-creative director alongside Miuccia Prada, which means archive Raf Simons pieces are now finite.
Which musicians and artists have championed Raf Simons?+
His influence reaches deep into music. Kanye West interviewed Simons in 2008 and cited him as an inspiration for the album 808s & Heartbreak and for his first runway collection. In 2017 the rap collective ASAP Mob released a track simply called "Raf," a measure of how firmly his name sits in the culture.
