Raf Simons Men's S/S15

[UnwashedMolasses]

[UnwashedMolasses]

Worth pointing out that this is not the original place where the show was walked, but rather a secondary setting specifically for taking runway photos. Apparently the original show had insane lighting/sound going on - if someone finds a video, please post.

Detail shots to follow.

[UnwashedMolasses]

BACKS

[UnwashedMolasses]

SHOES

[bels]

I don't care what you say I want those R stan smiths.

Collection makes me think about being a kid and having a bath before getting into new pyjamas and going to bed. The long coats are bathrobes in this interpretation.

[bels]

Also Thank You pic finally answer my question of what does Geoff Simons wear in the summer.

[CPV1]

I don't love it but it's better than I was expecting. It's a very wearable collection and I would wear most of it given the chance. Might try and put some money aside for one of these coats. Digging the prints and patches.

[UnwashedMolasses]

[can-]

patiently waiting for germil to tell me what to think about this

[popcorn]

is this the same footwear he'll be releasing with adidas?

i'm very indifferent to the stans, I don't like them, but by god do the ones above them look amazing.

[germinal]

For a collection that purports to be looking back at raf's distant past (with images of his younger self, his parents when they first dated, his time at antwerp etc), the designs seem more like a self-contained recap of his last couple of years. We see collars like those from his last collection at jil sander; buttons and prints from his work at dior; shirts and knits from the sterling ruby collection; a biker coat from last autumn; hair from the prior spring, and of course the adidas collaboration.

I think however, that - much like the collages - it comes off as rather disjointed and shallow. He's explored the theme of personal retrospective before, in the History of My World collection and if you compare the two it's telling. Here there is one cut of trouser from start to finish; there there was a carefully considered spectrum from skin tight to billowingly oversized. This collection could be called focussed, i would call it lazy. Similarly, the range of colours shown here is sprawling and peculiar, in contrast to the tightly honed scheme in aw05. Perhaps these colours look better in the lighting of the original presentation, and will look better in the clubs in which they're intended to be worn, but it does seem slightly "let's see what sticks" and the styling here is bad.

I kind of like the stans but the sandals seem lazy and opportunistic to me

[mc-lunar]

[can-]

deer dana beat raf to the punch

[germinal]

[IsaiahSchafer]

Lazy and opportunistic is obviously one way to look at it, but I don't think that completely encompasses what raf was doing. The stans are just a subtle change to a shoe he's long-worn and maybe he feels he doesn't need to do much to make it his own? Just because it's not drastic and "vintage raf" doesn't mean it's lazy or a cash grab, it's just what he wanted to bring to the conversation. Where some of the rafdidas shoes are outlandish, he should be allowed to have subtle too?

A designer is going to receive criticism no matter what he does- if he's too different from his previous shows, he's betraying roots or losing what made him a good designer. If it's too similar, he's being lazy.

In reality, he's one guy who likes certain things and if he brings things back it's probably because he likes it and was thinking "that was nice and worked, but what if i tweaked it like this".

I dunno, I'm no raf expert, just acting the part of literary foil.

[SisterRayVU]

This grew on me with the detail shots but the pieces as a whole were lackluster. That said, I don't think it was bad, just another show with cool bits and pieces. The Raf Simons Sterling Ruby collection is, to me, one of the high points of his career and I think it's hard to follow that up. I do think he carried some of the spirit here but it lacked the compelling result from FW.

[BIGBEE]

really like the shoes this season! they seem much more approachable than other raf shoes I've seen

[pk!]

Maybe it's an unpopular opinion, but personally I'm completely over Raf x Adidas. They were bold and interesting in the beginning, but now they're starting to feel stale and only convenient. I wouldn't mind the continuation of the collaboration if he would either try to break out of this luxury sportswear model or create shoes with more influences alongside them. I understand the influence is always youth, and from that sneakers and sporty shoes are almost inseparable from the concept, but I think there's still room to try other things - I mean, what is youth worth but the ability to change and explore very quickly?

Just my thoughts though, I'm sure that Raf x Adidas will continue on, it's too convenient, profitable, and popular not to.

[Prince of Scandinavia]

[can-]

i dont have any thoughts about the bunny boots or slides but the rest of the rafdidas portfolio is at the top of the ugly runner spectrum and competes or beats the rest-- lanvin, balenciagur, etc.

the stans aren't challenging or thoughtful but how can you say no to two of the best things-- stan smiths and raf simons-- put together? it might be a little easy but there's a sense of humor and if you want a pair of stans in bright red, orange or with raf simons' face on them there isn't much out there that will make you happy.