Raf Simons Mens F/W 2015.16 Paris

[margielamike2004]

Does anybody here watch the news...does anyone here read the newspapers...does anyone here see what Raf is trying to say through this collection about the world and its state of affairs??

"Child In Time"..by Deep Purple...a song that Raf listened to during his youth...a song that was written over 40 years ago.

The bombings in Paris??...The bombings during the Boston Marathon (where I live)...the decapitations of people in the Middle East.

Ironically...everything I mentioned above...are all tragedies that are being comitted by YOUNG PEOPLE!!

Raf's collection is trying to tell you a story, duh??

 

[Scott]

trust me mutterlein,if anybody else had designed this i would still be rather fond of it. it has nothing to with the fact that it's just designed by raf. and i am most certainly not a fashion victim,thank you.

frankly,the last few seasons with raf have had a very post-modern attitude about them and i think he's maybe reflecting a restless state of mind not just in fashion in general but maybe himself an inner conflict he feels designing for a corporate house. this seems like his avenue for all his creative energy. personally i too i wish he would just concentrate all of his energy on his namesake again and forget about sucking up to the establishment.

 

[dior_couture1245]

Awww..designing clothes that make people look sexy. Yup...that's my whole outlook in regards to fashion...whatever I put on my body...I feel the need to be looked upon as a breeding machine..an object of desire... the lust for others affection. If the clothes I wear..don't get me laid for the day..my existence isn't complete.

Oh give me a break.

I'm not so simple to think that "sexy" only equals a bikini on a Sports Illustrated model or a skimpy little swimsuit on a Bruce Weber Abercombie god.

Maybe I'm Freudian, but I actually do believe that despite protesting the opposite, everyone wants to look and - especially - feel attractive and sexy.

 

[Marc10]

Some of the criticism I'm reading here is quite funny. I feel like some people hate Raf's work at Dior and sorta bandwagon for his line without really knowing much about what his menswear work is about.

There's nothing in this collection that is not Raf Simons. If this looks like something that other designers are doing, it's because they're the students, he's the teacher. Also, because his brand is successful (in his own terms, we should add) and because he's now one of the top designers in the world, he has to drop his identity, the thing people love about his work? The fact that he's who he is now and is still so faithful to his identity and inspirations is something to be celebrated.
...

I always like to analyze Raf's collections after reading Tim Blanks' article. Reading his insights, his personal influences, always give the collection a whole different dimension. I mean, the college story background of those white graffiti coats? Very few designers give such emotion to their clothes in such a subtle way. I'm crazy about the silhouette. Love how he took those long military coats and ripped them into these majestic looking vests. The extremely boyish look with deep hints of dandyness os something so Raf.

As someone else said, thank god for Raf Simons. Thank god that he's still has the same underdog heart from the 90s. Thank god that people are still pushing menswear, for us out here that could care less about looking... sexy or whatever.

 

[margielamike2004]

LOL...I'm very well aware of Raf Simons...and I've been following him practically since the start of his career.

I've bought random pieces from almost all of his collections..up until 2004. Anything that I do have sitting in my closet from Raf....are pieces I bought in the early to late 90's.

I stopped clinging onto Raf around 2004..b/c I began to dislike the direction in which his collections started to evolve.

I had the same outlook in regards to Martin Margiela. Around the year 2004 was the unfortunate turning-point in Margiela's career.....when Diesel Jeans dug their claws and their financial assistance into Margiela's business and became a corporate entity. As soon as I became aware of Diesel Jeans staking claim with MMM...I could predict Margiela's eventual demise...and my predictions were correct. I had the same icky feeling about Raf for a while, too....but I can see he's already held onto most of his integrity regardless if he's been taken (partially) into the hands of a corporate conglomeration as Vuitton.

I personally like this particular collection b/c it reminds me of the good ole' days of Raf Simons...when he wasn't involved in so many collaborations with other companies like he is today....This collection reminds me of a time when his namesake didn't have so much popularity, recognition, or exposure. A time when his philosophy about fashion was very Belgian (or Japanese)....simply creating what he loved...keeping a very low profile (much like Margiela...there once was a time when even Raf himself refused to be seen so openly to the public)...and presenting what he liked best.

When I saw this collection...I sat back and said to myself..."Perhaps the real Raf, is back??"

 

[margielamike2004]

Like I always say...feeling attractive and sexy is always open to different interpretations.

Some men feel sexy wearing something from Gucci..or Dolce.... but some men might also feel sexy and attractive when wearing pieces from this particular Raf Simons collection.

We all have our own ideal of what we consider to be sexy...there is no standard formula.

And as far as any Bruce Weber Abercrombie God....those type of men with muscular bodies and lean physiques do not appeal to me.....and I'm not even remotely attracted to any of those types of the idealized beauty.

I'm 5 feet 4 inches tall...and roughly 115 pounds...and I'm a die-hard Bear-Chaser. I adore and admire men who are considerably overweight...and hairy. Those are the types of men who I personally consider to be sexy. I'm lean..with a "well defined" body...but I would never consider being interested in someone physically similar to myself. Chubby men turn me on, personally.

As I mentioned prior...being sexy...or seeing something as sexy...is open to different interpretations.

 

[dior_couture1245]

Thank god that people are still pushing menswear, for us out here that could care less about looking... sexy or whatever.

Again, maybe I'm too Freudian, but I honestly don't believe that people don't care about being/looking/feeling sexy.

Your version of sexy is absolutely open to interpretation, but I don't think you - or anyone, really - "could care less about looking sexy."

Who in this world doesn't want to look and feel attractive for themselves and for others? What you find sexy you project onto yourself via clothing and styling as a means of either reinforcing that ideal or attracting from others that ideal, or both. It's all rather primal and instinctual, actually.


All in all - regardless of sexy or not, the truth of the matter is that this collection feels pretentious, dated and try-hard...it doesn't matter to me what the show notes say or what his inspiration was. I just really don't see what is revolutionary or progressive about anything I see here. Raf has made huge contributions in this history of menswear, but I don't think he's given us anything, as of late, that moves menswear, or fashion at large, anywhere forward.

 

[margielamike2004]

I completely agree with you, Dior Couture1245...that this collection is by NO means...ground breaking...or pushing the boundaries of men's fashion, forward.

This collection is thought provoking in regards to what Raf is trying to say as far as his outlook of the world and it's current state of affairs, but........

I think what is truly disappointing to you, is....you've seen what Raf is capable of....you're aware of the possibilities that he could have set forward...you're upset b/c in this collection..it seems as though Raf held too much of himself, back. Instead of presenting something new and groundbreaking...he decided to overdose on nostalgia and his own past, instead. This collection comes across as too redundant...too familiar...too been-there-done-that. Kinda like receiving a let-down when you have such high expectations.

Speaking of breaking boundaries and pushing fashion for men forward...I've taken a keen observation of all the posts and comments that other peeps on TFS have made.

Taking into consideration that this is a collection for men....I find it ironic that very many people on here....have a problem with some of the pieces in this particular Raf collection....specifically...the pieces that "look too feminine."

If this collection were shown on a round-up of girls...I don't think there would be much ridicule or dispute.

Why??

Because we unfortunately live in a world of double standards....a world where it's perfectly okay..and socially acceptable...to emasculate women ....but not okay to feminize men. Women are capable of wearing a 3-piece suit and necktie without any fear of public disgruntlement....whereas, if a man wears a dress?? Oops...now the world has a problem. Society overlooks the fact..that trousers on women we not permissible many years ago...but god forbid if a man decides to wear a skirt??

The problem...with trying to be "ground-breaking" in regards to fashion for men is the fact...that the majority of men fear to embrace the concept of change. Fashion for men truly hasn't changed much since the 1930's and 40's. It's always been the standard suit and hasn't really evolved, since. Proportions and volume for men have been explored...such as the ultra-baggy suit of the 1980's....or the severely slender suit for men for modern times....but that's merely representation. Baggy suit or slender suit....a suit is still just a suit.

Many designers are trying to be ground-breaking...but the mass majority (of men in particular) find difficulty embracing the concept.

Take a keen observation of the current collection that Gucci presented for Men..F/W 2015

Pie-Crust, frilly collars for men...princess-length sleeves on their arms...cropped length jackets that sit above the hips...chiffon blouses that tie at the neck...see through lace??

I'd love to take a private gander....at all the men who see that collection...and hear what they have to say about it. I can only predict that the collection doesn't appeal to them...that it's a bit too feminine for them.

Over 10 years ago....someone once asked Karl Lagerfeld (designer for Chanel)...what he thinks the future of fashion for men will be.

His answer:

"The future of fashion for men will be..women's fashion."

NOW THAT...IS GROUND-BREAKING!!!

 

[disco54]

I thought it was quite nice, very nice outerwear, nice pants , and it felt introspective.

 

[IloveDiorHomme]

When I mention Helmut Lang, I mean the old Helmut Lang, not that actual crap...

I would have given everything just to experience the zeitgeist at the time, being 20 in 1999 and shop some Helmut Lang in his boutiques. Does it sound stupid ?

Anyway, Raf Simons has never been about being...the guy is partly asexual from what I heard and you can tell it through his designs. He is still focusing on that rebel/youth idea bla bla. This worked perfectly when he started. He was that young guy coming from a lost village in Limburg who had clear things to say about being a boy and experiencing the world.

Now what on earth a 47 year old man designing for Dior, living a bourgeois lifestyle can tell about violence, fears, gender bending ? This is just a lazy collection trying to copy the "Riot, riot, riot"one. And yest, you can tell when a designer who puts things on the catwalk is experiencing them in the real life. That is not the case....

 

[Nymphaea]

Raf can't pull this off.

 

[gossiping]

still better than what he's been putting out for dior that's not saying much is it..

 

[gazebo]

www.youtube.com/user/MadameFigaro

 

[Marc10]

Now what on earth a 47 year old man designing for Dior, living a bourgeois lifestyle can tell about violence, fears, gender bending ? This is just a lazy collection trying to copy the "Riot, riot, riot"one. And yest, you can tell when a designer who puts things on the catwalk is experiencing them in the real life. That is not the case....

That's such a silly thing to say. So because he's getting older he has to make boring 3-piece suits for middle aged men? The Raf Simons brand has nothing to do with Dior. You guys are basically asking him to drop his whole identity, what the hell? He has more to say and with far more authority than any young new thing around.

 

[elle_gb]

Raf's clothes is quite complicated and not one dimensional,I like what I've seen so far he is brilliant in what he does.

 

[Scott]

so raf is not allowed to express anything he sees simply because he's older and designs for dior. i don't really understand that logic. try telling kawakubo,vivienne westwood or chalayan that. they all still reflect the times and not a single one are in their 20's but are never as harshly criticised for it as raf...why is that? have some of you only been following raf since jil sander because the attitude seems historically limited. this is who raf has been since he started and despite his evolutions it's a quality that has always remained prevalent in his work.

as far as this business about sexuality...i live by the words of one rei kawakubo...my style is purely about who i am not about appealing or attracting anybody else. and defining attraction is purely subjective anyhow....what appeals to you in that way may not be the same for others.

 

[Phuel]

Well, I'm not sure how "raw" this collection actually is. I haven't seen the clothes in person I bet the "raw edges" are more decorative and that the clothes are probably well finished. One thing I will say about Raf's clothes, they are well done.

What annoys me, and similar to your sentiment, is that there is nothing groundbreaking about this collection. In fact, I would say it's mostly been done. Sure, there is the gender thing, but I'm not convinced and I'm entirely sure Raf is either.

The collection is about youth, his youth suppose. But his memory is maybe cloudy and this collection couldn't be farther from what youth culture today and of yesterday represented.


I've looked through this collection trying to find what people might like about, I can't find anything beyond the fact that Raf designed it. Some say he's getting at something we can't yet see, but it's been several seasons of this I'm not sure ride he's taking us anywhere we actually want to be.

The truth is, Raf's collections of late seem only to serve one purpose: to announce when worn that your clothes are from whichever Raf Simons collection. It's clothes for fashion victims. No thank you.

Yes, I agree. You've worded your sentiment much clearer than I did.

I think what I can't tolerate is this--what I feel to be, a lack of effort in offering of his fashion archive coupled with his take on social and political current events that this collection of fashion is supposedly meant to address.

I can appreciate when a designer wants to address current events, particularly such complex issues as he's chosen, but it feels awkward to me looking at this since all I see are sloppily-made pieces... Am I to praise a collection of mostly weak fashion designs because the message behind the presentation is so complex...? Ultimately, Raf is a beyond that point in his career where just presenting ideas and concepts that stray from the conventional is enough to earn praise. He has to go above and beyond that point he was at 15 years ago, otherwise it is just laziness and being adamant, and coasting by on his prestigious name.

Having a second gander at this offering, I'll admit there are a few looks that are stellar and really convey the fusion of feminine/ masculine dressing in an almost sophisticated, and restraint, elegant offering: Pic #10 of the flannel piece that resembles a hybrid of gentleman's vest/ topcoat and a woman's coatdress. Worn with a leather loose-fitting leather cuff that gives the impression of a bangle, I think the look is strong and sleek. And pic #11 of the ivory piece with its scoopneck topcoat and coatdress belted at the waist hybrid design that projects the perfect definition of a modern androgyny. The lines are so clean, so sharp in its deconstructed design. These are the type of mature designs I'd like to see more of from an experienced 47-year-old designer who supposed still has something to say-- not indie-tees worn over a buttondown shirt sloppily, or just tearing the sleeves off trenchcoats and shapeless coats with silly oversized collars and even sillier oversized zips.

He is capable of more than this.

 

[Zazie]

I haven't been this moved by a Raf Simon's men's collection in a long time...wow, brings back memories of the early Antwerp 7, Margiela, Ann D, and of course RS himself. Raw, young, 90s, recycled, "vintage", a little sad.

 

[IZ uS]

I haven't been this moved by a Raf Simon's men's collection in a long time...wow, brings back memories of the early Antwerp 7, Margiela, Ann D, and of course RS himself. Raw, young, 90s, recycled, "vintage", a little sad.

I think thats brilliant. I remember the 90's vividly in that way.