STREET SIGNS: Raf Simons is giving hype beasts in Tokyo a chance to score a piece of streetwear history — perhaps even a holy grail.
The Belgian designer has teamed with Dover Street Market Ginza to stage a doozy of a stock and archive sale, spanning nearly 30 years of collections, documentation and collaborations, including pieces from recent seasons.
Simons plans to make a personal appearance on the opening day, Dec. 29. The sale runs through Jan. 18, with new pieces introduced weekly.
“This is a unique chance to acquire a piece of fashion history,” according to a release from the brand over the weekend.
Co-creative director of Prada since 2020, Simons shuttered his signature brand in 2022, which only further fanned hysteria for such rarities as bomber jackets from his fall 2001 “Riot, Riot, Riot” collection, which have changed hands in recent years for as much as $47,000.
Items from the spring 2002 “Kollaps” show by Raf Simons.
Pascal Hermans
For the Dover Street Market Ginza event, Simons handpicked pieces from that seminal early show, his “Kollaps” collection for spring 2002, designs done in collaboration with American artist Sterling Ruby and pieces from his “Twin Peaks” show from fall 2016.
Among archival objects on offer are a box set of VHS tapes of Simons’ first nine shows; early invitations, including the “Black Palms” record album for the fall 1997 show, and original look books, photographs, posters, books and other printed matter.
Simons has long enjoyed an enthusiastic following in Japan, and in the past operated freestanding boutiques in Tokyo and Osaka, designed in collaboration with Ruby and British artist Roger Hiorns respectively.
A Joy Division shirt by Raf Simons.
Pascal Hermans
