Quite the start to the new year for Raf Simons die-hards. Don’t let them get too excited though, there are no comeback announcements, no new silhouettes, just a good old archive in Tokyo. Which might actually be more satisfying, because if there’s one thing fashion loves more than “what’s next”, it’s pretending it always misses the past.
It’s been a minute since the label last reminded us it was alive (SS23, for those counting), Raf Simons said he hit pause for some private time, can’t blame him, honestly. Naturally, he shipped decades of work to Dover Street Market Ginza and called it a day, sorry, an archive. And it’s the good stuff, Riot! Riot! Riot! jackets, signature runway artifacts, original lookbooks, even VHS tapes from early shows. It had to be Tokyo. A city that reads archives the way the rest of the world reads trends. We’re not talking nostalgia, more of a reference point fueled literally by the industry’s most respected collectors. And yes, that audience is very much still paying attention.
Everyone’s left to wonder, is this really the final end of an era, or just a nod to something new? I’d argue it’s neither. Just archives placed exactly where they should be, a smart way to exist in the system while everyone else spins in endless cycles. Yet somehow, that misses the point entirely. Whatever this is or isn’t, it’s confirming Simons’ influence, locking in his legacy, and throwing a wink at an industry addicted to speed and spectacle.
Call it closure, call it a footnote, or call it what it really is, a reminder that not every name needs press releases to stay remembered. Some originals are just better than any reinvention just like some paths are better left already walked, most of all in a place that obsessed with speed and the smell of freshness.
