Fashion

New York Fashion Week Men’s: Raf Simons Fall/Winter 2018

By Donovan | February 8, 2018 0 Comments

NEW YORK — Belgian fashion designer Raf Simons showed his Fall/Winter 2018 Menswear Collection at New York Fashion Week Men’s.

The runway was set for a feast, with piles of fruit and vegetables, breads and cheeses, cakes, and stacks of waffles that the staff encouraged guests to eat. Around dozens of lush floral bouquets, hundreds of half-poured glasses and empty bottles of Champagne and wine were artfully arranged. The extensive show notes cited the 1981 German film Christiane F. as a starting point. “Simons, like many Europeans of his generation, was exposed to the harrowing world of Christiane F. in high school, where the film and the book were discussed as a part of the curriculum,” the press release explained. It went on: “Christiane F. remains a cautionary tale, one that unashamedly and unapologetically depicts the realities of drug use and addiction.”

Brand: Raf Simons

Key People: Raf Simons

Season: Fall/Winter 2018 Menswear

Inspiration: Simons found inspiration in the non-fiction book-turned-film Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, in which the young title character falls into the 1970s club scene in West Berlin, leading her to spiral into drug addiction. Her story is not dissimilar to that of many people struggling with addiction in America today, and according to the show notes, Simons sought to “consider the persistent, almost ubiquitous presence of narcotics (prescribed or otherwise) within our society and acknowledge our often conflicted relationships with them; in turn opening up a more nuanced dialog around the implications for a society where addiction and [its causes] remain largely taboo subjects, with — as both Christiane F. and the current opioid crisis demonstrate — often untold human consequences.”

Trends: Graphic prints with the faces of actors Thomas Haustein and Natja Brunckhorst featured on them, neon sleeveless hoodies were emblazoned with “DRUGS,” Colored patches printed with “DRUGS,” as well as the names of a handful of designer substances like “XTC,” “GHB,” “LSD” and “2C-B” — all of which are popular on the club scene — appeared on the knees of trousers, knit scarves and as elbow patches on coats, long latex gloves and lace-up, platform rubber boots, sweaters, turtlenecks, a plaid boxy coat, cargo pants, and much more.

Palette: Bright colors, patches, denim, cotton, silk, plaid and more.

Models: A diverse group of models.

Guests in attendance: A$AP Rocky