Raf Simons Brand to Sell Archive at Dover Street Market Ginza

Raf Simons will hold a three-week sale of leftover stock and rare archival garments at Tokyo’s Dover Street Market Ginza, three years after the Belgian designer shut down his eponymous label.

The sale, which runs from Dec. 29 to Jan. 18 and will introduce new pieces each week, draws on a myriad of products selected by Simons. The designer, who is co-creative director of Prada with Miuccia Prada, will be onsite at the shop on the first day of the sale to sign pieces.

The sale also includes objects from the archive, such as early invitations like the vinyl-record-shaped invite for the 1997 Black Palms show in Paris, and a box containing VHS tapes of the first nine Raf Simons shows. There will also be photographs, posters and books spanning the brand’s almost three-decade run.

Founded in Belgium in 1995, the Raf Simons brand would eventually propel Simons to fashion industry prominence and help him land top jobs at Jil Sander, Dior and Calvin Klein. Despite remaining relatively small, the label wielded outsized influence through its groundbreaking menswear, known for helping to popularise the skinny silhouette and for its focus on youth culture. In late 2022, Simons announced that the brand’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection would be its last.

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