Raf Simons ( born 12 January 1968 ) is a Belgian fashion designer
Simons graduated in Industrial Design and Furniture Design from LUCA School of Arts in Genk in 1991.
Van Beirendonck took him to Paris Fashion Week and that was when Simons first saw a fashion show Martin Margiela all-white show in 1991 which inspired Simons to turn to fashion design
He began working as a furniture designer for various galleries, having previously interned at the design studio of Walter Van Beirendonck between 1991 and 1993.
Simons became a self-trained menswear designer and launched his Raf Simons label in 1995 his first collection was in Fall–Winter 1995, and featured two street models in a video presentation
From Fall–Winter 1995 to Spring–Summer 1997, Simons's collections were shown either in presentations or videos.
Fall–Winter 1997 saw his first runway show in Paris, France, with a look of 'American college students and English schoolboys with a background of New Wave and Punk
In March 2000, Simons shut down his company to take a sabbatical after his Fall–Winter 2000 collection (Confusion). Following a new deal with Belgian manufacturer, Gysemans Clothing Industry, the company was started back up again for Fall–Winter 2001
During this time, Simons's international prominence grew with the collection for Spring–Summer 2002 (Woe Onto Those Who Spit On The Fear Generation ...The Wind Will Blow It Back) becoming one of his most influential due to its 'layered, hooded, sinister image of the urban guerrilla.
In 2008, two flagship Raf Simons stand-alone stores opened in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, in collaboration with the artists Sterling Ruby and Roger Hiorns
On November 21, 2022, Raf Simons announced via its Social Media Channels that the SS23 collection would be the last collection from the label before he closes it down after the end of the season.
