Raf Simons at Paris Fashion Week Men's S/S 2019

Models wear blue coat, silver bag and grey humber at Raf Simons S/S 2019

Raf Simons S/S 2019. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Mood board: The collection saw Simons riffing on punk. Super wide coats in shiny satins and saccharine hues came with large globular studs. Skinny silk tops were pleated and draped formally at the neck; silver rings swung gently from tabs applied all over the front of jersey roll necks. The clothes had a pop art decadence. A mashing up of decoration and destruction. Lurex sweaters had rogue neck holes; archival portraits on t-shirts were studded with diamanté earrings.

Scene setting: Simons retuned to Paris after showing his namesake collection in New York last season. Guests were invited to an old metal works in Montreuil, deep in the eastern suburbs of Paris. Inside the industrial space, a large, low catwalk was installed with metallic female mannequins suspended from the ceiling and draped in the manner of Allen Jones next to baroque mirrors. The mood was sexual and dark. Lasers scanned the room. The hubbub from the assembled crowd including Kim Jones, Naomi Campbell, A$AP Rocky and Takashi Murakami was feverish – the room throbbed with anticipation.

Finishing touches: Stand out were the louche wool overcoats slashed out to expose their inner workings; their silky linings and exposed wadding had a poetic urgency. Models wore leather net tops based on the construction of plastic beer can rings, or held metallic skins studded with aluminum cans.

Models wear knitted jumpers and platform boots at Raf Simons S/S 2019 — Raf Simons S/S 2019. *Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans*

Models wear perforated blouse and grey jumper at Raf Simons S/S 2019 — Raf Simons S/S 2019. *Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans*

Models wear jumpers and tailored trousers at Raf Simons S/S 2019 — Raf Simons S/S 2019. *Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans*

Models wear jumper, jacket and tailored trousers at Raf Simons S/S 2019 — Raf Simons S/S 2019. *Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans*

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London based writer Dal Chodha is editor-in-chief of Archivist Addendum — a publishing project that explores the gap between fashion editorial and academe. He writes for various international titles and journals on fashion, art and culture and is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. Chodha has been working in academic institutions for more than a decade and is Stage 1 Leader of the BA Fashion Communication and Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. In 2020 he published his first book SHOW NOTES, an original hybrid of journalism, poetry and provocation.