Raf Simons has announced the end of his eponymous brand after 27 years.
The Spring/Summer 2023 collection marks the end of an extraordinary journey and will be the brand’s last collection, the Belgian designer said on the Instagram account of the brand of the same name on Monday.
“Words fail me to express how proud I am of everything we have achieved. I am grateful for the incredible support from my team, staff, press and buyers, friends and family, and our loyal fans and followers,” Simons wrote in the post.
These supporters also include fashion designers such as Marc Jacobs, Bottega Veneta designers, Matthieu Blazy and GmbH co-founder Benjamin Huseby, who comments on the post. “Always amazing. always inspiring. Thank you Raf,” Jacobs writes.
Always forward
The brand’s latest collection was shown in London in mid-October after originally being planned as part of London Fashion Week and then postponed due to the Queen’s death. The collection, shown at the Printworks nightclub, nodded to the ’80s with an aesthetic somewhere between new wave and punk. The collection of the designer, who likes to be inspired by subcultures, seemed a bit more reserved. This featured blazers and biker jackets, which the show’s press release described as “radical gestures of simplicity.”
Simons closes the farewell post to his brand, founded in 1995, with the words “always forward”. And so it only remains to be seen what the Prada designer has in store next.