Raf Simons: Virginia Creeper

by Luke James

Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus Quinquefolia) Autumn/Winter 2002/2003. 26th of January 2002, Lycee Stanislas, Paris




The Theme:

The starting point of this collection is the duality of nature. Both soothing and cruel, nature is still not totally conquered by mankind. At the same time the forceful beauty of nature continues to be a fascination for previous as much as today's generation. Even after centuries of industrial progress, these elements of nature maintain their intrigue, mystery and wonder about them. Owls for instance are not just birds; their silence and withdrawal is almost inexplicable as is simultaneously alluring. Vast and impenetrable woods still put fear into mere mortals. Uncharted swamps serve no real purpose but remain the staple of ominous tales and whispered stories. Poisonous weeds (like the Canadian Virginia Creeper of the collection's title) are a wonderful sight to the eye of the beholder while at the same time cannot be touched or eaten.

All said subjects, predators, plants and caprices of nature alike, are isolated, almost separated from modern civilisation. They compose both themes and background of our darker fantasies. It is not surprising, that they keep cropping up in horror movies (e.g. The Blair Witch Project, The Swamp Thing) as well as thriller books, much like Raf Simons’ own inspiration for the show from the cult classic Twin Peaks. No wonder their splendid, self-contained isolation alludes to a higher, and more pure state of mind.

The Collection:

The colours used in the collection are all derived from nature-related themes: forest browns and nightly blacks, slate greys, leafy greens and snowy off-whites. Just like owl feathers or the shades over swamps keep blending into each other, the silhouettes also have changing hues and colour tones, similar to the notion of camouflage. Coats are heavy and loose - almost dripping off the body. Sleeveless padded jackets, hooded, parka-like coats and adventure-style jacquard sweaters are worn on top of each other, to create a 'explorer-of-nature' feel. This oversized fit is a common trope in Raf Simons’ clothing. It’s akin to a boy trying on his older brother’s clothes. It’s a mixture of innocence, shyness, puberty, adolescence, growing up, or wanting to. Certain shapes are tricks of the eye: a 'double' coat, looking like a bomber jacket worn over a long coat, is in fact cut in one piece. Also referring to the swamp scenery is a surprising bondage theme; surprising as the bondage look is not used to restrict or confine the body. Instead, thick harnesses of ribbons are 'draped' over voluminous coats and baggy trousers similar to an imaginary safety net.

In contrast to this tribute to nature, there's a fiercely technological side to the collection. Just like nature is brutalised by the intrusion of man, the clothes are equally embroiled in a battle where throwaway plastic - commonly used to produce garbage bags, is thrown into the equation as much as 'anti-nature' materials such as nylon, fake leather, rubber, industrial gauzes, waxed cotton and varieties of plastic, for trousers, ponchos and capes. The metallic shine and hard colour palette (silver, electric blue) of these fabrics, used along quality natural wool and tweeds, create an unusual but intriguing friction. To complete the story, U.S. collegiate teenage fashion (baseball blousons, sport sweaters) also permeates through the collection – ModeMuseum Provincie Antwerpen.

Raf Simons had collaborated with the artist Simon Periton to create several different pieces for the collection which involved cutting up patterns into sweatshirts and coats, as if the models have had their clothes torn up, having run through an ominous forest. It is the world of tweed jackets colliding with grunge. All in all, this was certainly a bold and different direction to Simons’ groundbreaking (mostly cotton) spring summer 2002 collection, which shocked the post-9/11 world with its terrorism theme and masked models.

Virginia Creeper was narrative-driven, and much more experimental with its styling, and the clothes themselves. This showed a great increase in confidence in the face of the unforgiving fashion world. It perhaps cemented Raf Simons’ unbroken run of fashion shows up to this very day, where he is now in charge not only of his own label, but also the huge conglomerate Calvin Klein. I think one can see why people uphold his older shows, Virginia Creeper being among the most revered, as they seem to be much more creative, innovative and emotional, than perhaps his current shows are.

His latest show for Raf Simons was a blindingly obvious nod to blade runner, but with really very little subtlety, as it copied the exact setting, styling choices, and aesthetic from the 1989 movie. It had many repeated designs from his earlier work Closer from Autumn Winter 2003 too. It is notable that Raf Simons never designed his own shoes until 2005, and they were never the focus of his shows (his shoes are probably now his most popular item). In Virginia Creeper he used the same black converses for every outfit. One was supposed to look at just the clothes.

Pieces from Virginia Creeper (and most of Raf Simons from pre-2005) have become something of a collector’s item now, and the torn up, grunge sweatshirts have been known to fetch upwards of $4000, and have even been spotted on Kanye West (This Nebraska design has even been “appropriated” by Off-White’s very own Virgil Abloh).