raf in the rain...

The reasons we love some designers more than others are many and varied. But I'm coming to the conclusion that one of the reasons I love Raf Simons so much, is that maybe he is every bit as contrary as Queen Michelle and I.

I love his attitude as much as his clothes

On a humid Tuesday night earlier this week he unveiled his spring 2018 collection under a bridge in Chinatown. I remember being in New York in July with temps soaring to well over 100 degrees every day, so that he has wellington boots and umbrellas striding through an underpass in the height of summer makes me chuckle, although the poor models must have been struggling.

The open-air venue was decorated with neon signs and symbols, as well as red and white lanterns that looked like they were hanging at the space long before Simons moved to New York City in 2016. The white lanterns, in particular, were original for the show and featured references to the band New Order.

Peter Saville, the English art director and graphic designer who designed album covers, inspired part of the collection and the show's experience, but the central theme for the spring 2018 collection and venue is the film Blade Runner. The venue referenced scenes from the film and decorations like the neon signs.

The models carried umbrellas with ripped canopies. Plaid ponchos and coats and oversized button down shirts were worn with off-shoulder knitwear and topcoats. Shirts that featured the word ‘replicant,’ a nod to Blade Runner while New Order graphics that were layered over outerwear, two-tone coats, sleeveless shirts and long high-waisted skirts on the few females in the show...

Good grief, I can feel myself overheating just looking at these shots...

Queen Marie