raf simons fw18 menswear collection “youth in motion” brought together conflicting imagery and colliding period imagination, merging the modern, near-sport fabrics and unique knits standard for raf’s design ethos, with staging and imagery intended to invoke the decaying scenery of flemish still life painting. Superimposed on the garments themselves were art, prints, and words drawn from by Uli Edel’s 1981 film Christiane F, a visceral cautionary tale about the pitfalls of drug use, addiction, and psychological disorder at the heart of europe’s long historic party scene; this reference was poignant at a time rife with news about the mounting “opiod crisis,” essentially a recognition of the major pharmaceutical drug problems that have addled communities for decades now reaching new heights and bringing suburban family perspectives into awareness of these problems, and at a time where pharmaceutical companies pushing opioids at the expense of millions of lives and livelihoods began facing a new wave of even wider spread criticism. As models walk past wilting flowers, open bottles of bordeaux, grapes and cheeses spread across the catwalk, the discerning viewer can easily and immediately see the parallels between this sociocultural rot of this drug crisis destroying entire communities, and the visceral imagery of the french still life, which depicts molding produce, fine foods rotting out, aging wines, and other such raw and confrontational imagery of the death and decay of decadence - a case study in the liminality of the world around us, always growing, aging, and dying, perhaps even interrogating our ties to such excesses that begin to fade from the moment they are brought in, or maybe a celebration of the temporality of our world and a reminder to enjoy what we have, to cherish the beauty even in the decay, but also cautioning us of the reality that nothing is permanent and all of it is precious. The garments themselves are disjointed, perhaps even moreso than other Raf collections, including scarves that appear to be fabricated from outtakes of sweaters that never were, draping knit tops that don’t seem to have a real beginning or end, stitching that refuses to follow a strict logic, and confusing combinations of sleek modern silhouettes (and materials) with much more classic textiles. many of the models also sported haircuts and accessories reminiscent of Christiane F, a nod to their own ties to the very world out of which this show’s central story is desirved. Patches were superimposed on jackets and pants with the names of party drugs du jour of the european party scene from which the inspiration was emergent (see the GHB and 2c-b patches on the knees in the second look shown here). Classic raf simons bomber jackets were not featured, instead favoring long draping coats, perhaps just to fit the oversized big top slender bottom style popular in 2017-18, or maybe another reference to street dealers to go along with such an exploration of drug culture displayed in the show. Whether the viewer looks in to find a warning about the fatality of just living, or a perverse celebration of the beautiful tragedy of mortality, simons’ show brings together a truly poetic display of the finite nature of life and death.
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