Just one month after revealing his third collaboration with Miuccia Prada, Raf Simons returned to the stage to debut his men’s and women’s Fall/Winter 2021 collection.
Filmed at the Barenzaal and C-mine facilities in Genk, Belgium, the Belgian creative’s collection spotlighted a selection of tremendously oversized apparel with aims to upset convention by suggesting “different form language and new purposes”, according to the show notes issued by the brand.
This season, Simons stated his mission plainly: “The collection is about things I love things I have always loved, that are always there in every collection, in the processes behind it, and the clothes”.
The line was inspired by a series of words, which the brand noted in its press release had no “hierarchy or intentional sequence”. Those are: ataraxia (defined by Raf Simons as “a state of freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety”), equanimity (“calmness of mind or temper”), dichotomy (“division into two parts or classifications, [especially] when they are sharply distinguished or opposed”), synchronicity (“an apparently meaningful coincidence in time of two or more similar or identical events that are causally unrelated”), allegiance (“support for and loyalty to a particular group, person or belief”) and devotion (“an affection, admiration or great love”).
This vocabulary was reflected in the array of genderless quilted jackets, relaxed shirts and giant sweaters, all piled atop floor-scuffing slacks, quilted A-line coats, some layered with puffy vests, and gigantic mushroom cap knits with strass brooches and dot patterns, oversized knits with dramatic sleeves, shirting with the sleeves pushed up to the elbows with slick gloves. Elements like color palette and silhouette combined couture and youth culture with the collections’ loyalty referencing archival themes and inspirations. These called to the past, like the classic R logo and signature, give viewers a comforting familiarity while a fresh perspective of elevated street style suggested the idea of different worlds colliding. “I don’t want to show clothes, I want to show my attitude, my past, present and future. I use memories and future visions and try to place them in today’s world”, said Simons.