Skateboards, stickers and music in new Raf Simons show curated by Willy Vanderperre

Date
13 August 2015

For the A/W14-15 issue of 032c the Berlin-based publication took pause to pay tribute to Raf Simons, the multitalented man and designer who heads his eponymous label as well as fashion house Dior, and formerly held the reins at Jil Sander. Building on this in-print retrospective, an intimate new exhibition curated by photographer and friend Willy Vanderperre and hosted in the 032c Workshop looks at 20 years of his designs. The show assembles a triumvirate of longtime collaborators: Simons, Vanderperre and stylist Olivier Rizzo. All three are scions of the mid-90s Antwerp scene that have made indelible marks in fashion for expertly translating the insouciant lean of youth.

Staged in an eight-metre long vitrine and curated in the DIY style of a school locker, Vanderperre has has reprinted images from Raf’s 032c story – styled by Olivier Rizzo – on to stickers and skate decks, whilst photographs are pinned to the case or collaged together. All of this is set to a soundtrack of electro and sludge music which serves to underscore the role of music as a vital source of inspiration. An homage to youth culture and collaboration in design, the small-scale installation speaks of the two-decade-plus relationship between the designer, the photographer and the stylist that started in Antwerp’s Witzli-Poetzli café in the early 90s, and has brought them to the fore of fashion.

The Raf Simons exhibit runs through August 21 at 032c Workshop in Berlin.

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Raf Simons at 032c Workshop, installation shot

Above

Raf Simons at 032c Workshop, installation shot

Above

Raf Simons at 032c Workshop, installation shot

Above

Raf Simons at 032c Workshop, installation shot

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Alexander Hawkins

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