With the new Archive Redux collection, Raf Simons is presenting a "reexamination and recontextualizing" of the past for the present moment.
The collection consists of 100 pieces from the coveted Raf Simons archives, all selected in celebration of the brand's 25th anniversary. Per a press release, the aim of the collection—which was curated with an eye toward brand history by Simons himself—is to provide new generations of appreciators the opportunity of experiencing these classic pieces for the first time. In the words of the Raf Simons team, the Archive Redux range can be seen as "a nostalgia for the unknown" from the perspective of young followers looking to the past.
Imagery from Archive Redux is set for July, with deliveries starting in December. The brand's Spring/Summer 2021 collection will be shown later this year in anticipation of a Spring 2021 delivery.
Below, see additional photos by Willy Vanderperre, complete with styling from Olivier Rizzo. Classic brand moments captured in this trio of images include a KOLLAPS hoodie, a piece from the brand’s debut collection, and a Kraftwerk-nodding shirt/tie combo.
Revered pieces of yore from the Raf Simons catalog again became a source of envy back in April with the appearance of the long-admired Riot Bomber in Drake’s social distancing-friendly “Toosie Slide” video.
Back in February, Simons was named co-creative director at Prada, a title that spells a potential expansion of the latter brand’s core consumer base. Per Miuccia Prada, she and Simons had “been in discussions” about a collaboration of this nature for more than a year.
