Fashion Definitions — fashion history, brands and industry terms from Apparel Search
Raf Simons is a Belgian fashion designer who studied industrial design and, after a few years of self-study, became a menswear designer in 1995. He initially worked with Walter Van Beirendonck in Paris, where he was exposed to the work of Martin Margiela and Jean-Paul Gaultier. His menswear collections are strongly influenced by youth culture in an indirect way, often combining strongly cut classic menswear with baggy, streetwear-influenced items. In summer 2005 he was appointed creative director for the Jil Sander label, and he also announced a second menswear line, Raf by Raf Simons, to be launched in 2006.
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His collections (menswear only) are strongly influenced by youth culture albeit in an indirect way. He often combines strongly cut classic menswear with baggy streetwear-influenced items. Simons' style has been described as highly influential. He is being cited as one of the most important innovators in contemporary menswear by the international press. He presents his collections twice a year, usually in Paris, but works and lives in Antwerp, Belgium.
In summer 2005 he was appointed as creative director for the Jil Sander label, owned by the Prada Group. He also announced the creation of a second own menswear line, "Raf by Raf Simons", to be launched in 2006.
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raf_Simons 2/6/06 |
Designer Definition (from U.S Department of Labor)
Simons did not train in fashion at all. He studied industrial design — the design of manufactured objects — and then, after a few years of self-study, became a menswear designer in 1995. That route shapes the kind of designer he is. Industrial design teaches that form follows use, that an object is a system of materials, proportions and functions, and that decoration is suspect. A menswear designer formed that way approaches a jacket the way an industrial designer approaches a product: what is it for, how is it built, and what can be removed. His apprenticeship was equally unconventional. He worked with Walter Van Beirendonck in Paris, one of the Antwerp designers who treated menswear as a field for ideas, and there he was exposed to the work of Martin Margiela and Jean-Paul Gaultier — two designers who, in different ways, questioned what a garment should be. Self-study plus that exposure produced a designer educated by looking rather than by a curriculum.
His collections are described as strongly influenced by youth culture, albeit in an indirect way, and that qualification is the key to the work. Direct youth-culture fashion copies what young people wear: the same hoods, graphics and trainers, sold back at designer prices. An indirect influence absorbs the attitude — the proportions, the layering, the sense of a uniform adopted by a tribe — and translates it into designed clothing. The translation is visible in his characteristic combination: strongly cut classic menswear worn with baggy, streetwear-influenced items. The two halves pull against each other. Strong cutting is the tailor's discipline, precise and adult; baggy streetwear is loose, oversized and young. Putting them in one outfit creates the tension his collections are known for, and it mirrors how young men actually dress when they mix a formal piece with casual ones rather than wearing a matched look.
The critical standing followed from that method. His style has been described as highly influential, and he has been cited as one of the most important innovators in contemporary menswear by the international press. Influence in menswear is hard to win because the field changes slowly and its customers are conservative, so an innovator there changes minds rather than merely hemlines. He presents his collections twice a year, usually in Paris, but works and lives in Antwerp, Belgium. That geography is itself a position: Paris for the audience and the calendar, Antwerp for the work, away from the capital's fashion establishment and close to the Belgian design culture that formed him.
In summer 2005 he was appointed creative director for the Jil Sander label, owned by the Prada Group. The appointment paired two kinds of minimalism. Jil Sander the house stood for restraint, fine fabric and meticulous detail in both women's and men's clothing; Simons stood for a younger, more conceptual menswear. Handing him the label meant trusting an outsider known for youth-culture references with one of the most disciplined names in fashion, and it marked his move from running only his own label to directing an established house — the step that tests whether a designer's language can live inside someone else's brand. At the same time he announced a second line of his own, Raf by Raf Simons, to be launched in 2006. Running a main label, preparing a second line and directing Jil Sander at once describes the modern creative director's portfolio career: the own-name label as the laboratory, the second line as its more accessible edition, and the established house as the large stage. That all three were in motion by 2005, ten years after he entered menswear by self-study, measures how completely the industrial designer from Antwerp had been absorbed into the centre of the industry he had taught himself.
Simons studied industrial design. After a few years of self-study he became a menswear designer in 1995, initially working with Walter Van Beirendonck in Paris.
His collections, menswear only, are strongly influenced by youth culture in an indirect way and often combine strongly cut classic menswear with baggy, streetwear-influenced items. His style has been described as highly influential in contemporary menswear.
In summer 2005 Simons was appointed creative director for the Jil Sander label, owned by the Prada Group. He also announced a second own menswear line, Raf by Raf Simons, to be launched in 2006.