Raf Simons' eponymous label is entering its 25th year and to celebrate, the highly-revered Belgian designer is re-issuing 100 pieces from his archive, much to the delight of menswear aficionados around the world.
The re-release has been christened the "Raf Simons Archive Redux" – redux means "that returns" in Latin – and will see the available pieces revealed later this month before going on sale in December.
The Raf Simons Instagram account has been sharing archival images from previous collections for the past few weeks, and now we can understand why. The confirmed pieces so far include the Kraftwerk-inspired red shirts and skinny ties from FW98's "Radiocactivity" show and the "KOLLAPS" hoodies from SS02's "Woe Onto Those Who Spit on the Fear Generation… The Wind Will Blow It Back" collection.
Simons – who has now joined Miuccia Prada as co-creative director of Prada – has established a legacy of covetable archive pieces over the years. Recently, a piece of furniture he designed for his graduate collection was fetching for $100,000 on Grailed. Meanwhile, the Kanye West and Drake-approved camo bomber from the "Riot! Riot! Riot!" collection was recently sold on Vestiare Collective for $15,000.
A press release accompanying the announcement describes the impending archive sale as "both a creative and commercial gesture, [it] offers the new generation of Raf Simons followers a chance to experience these garments for the first time. A nostalgia for the unknown."
