Stripped of any bold graphics or artist collaborations, Raf Simons' Autumn Winter 2012 "Run Fall Run" sees Simons returning to the good old menswear staples such as suits, shirts and jackets, pairing them in a sartorial yet street-led approach. When asked what the collection was about, Simons pointed out how menswear had settled into the conventional formula of “a shirt, a tie etc.” While he did not necessarily dislike this, he wanted to see how he could change it by altering its proportions and function.
This was especially relevant in AW12, when tailoring had once again become major subjects across menswear shows. At Prada, high-buttoned double-breasted suits were used to stage what Miuccia Prada called a "parody of male power". Lanvin enlarged the shoulders and pulled in the waist to create an exaggerated, athletic male body. Givenchy combined severe tailoring with gladiatorial sportswear, while Dior Homme brought military codes into slim jackets, overcoats and baseball caps. By contrast, Simons’ enlarged jackets and coats appeared more powerful than the young bodies inside them, as though the models had not yet grown into the clothing or the adulthood it represented.
Volume sat mainly above the waist. He paired dropped-shoulder jackets, broad coats and bloused/layered shirts with relaxed knee length shorts, sporty shoes and oversized caps resembling cloches. Dyed strands of hair completed the styling, trailing from the garments or passing across the models’ faces. Simons explained that hair dye interested him because it offered someone a quick way to change their appearance. The result? A balance of sartorial, youth and street. But it works. Kinda.
Simons described the collection through four words: "change, energy, freedom, protection." Oversized outerwear and layered shirts enveloped the body, while the low headwear and veils of hair concealed the face. Protection, however, was not purely physical. It also reflected Simons’ sense of protectiveness toward the idealistic young men who had long inspired his work.
In Look 16, Simons took the traditional morning coat, identified by a curved, cutaway front that slopes into long tails at the back, and softened it with all over quilting. Historically worn as formal daytime dress and commonly associated with royal events/weddings, it was instead paired with tailored shorts and running shoes on the runway. For Simons, that was precisely what he wanted to create for this season. It shouldn't work but somehow it does.
Tagged size 44