{"product_id":"ss17-raf-simons-robert-mapplethorpe-pictures-apron-denim","title":"SS17 Raf Simons \u0026 Robert Mapplethorpe 'Pictures' Apron Denim","description":"\u003cp\u003eRaf Simons is no stranger to artist collaborations. Since founding his eponymous label in 1995, Simons has consistently injected music, film, art, and youth subculture into his collections. His first official artist collaboration dates back to 2004 with Peter Saville, reportedly the first time the legendary graphic designer had agreed to such a project.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSince then, he has worked closely with artists, art estates and foundations to explore their personal archives. Today, we turn to one of the most celebrated collaborations of his contemporary career: Spring\/Summer 2017 with the late American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTitled 'Pictures', the collection began with a surprise invitational email from the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, who approached Simons after admiring his collaboration with Sterling Ruby. Simons immediately shelved whatever he was developing and dedicated his Spring Summer 2017 collection entirely to Mapplethorpe's work. As the special guest designer for Pitti Uomo 90 in Florence, Simons presented the collection in June 2016, transforming the traditional runway into an immersive tribute to Mapplethorpe.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"They always look pure, his photographs. There is never conflict; there is never an extreme setup. To me, it was important, that I would not dominate—with the clothes, with the collection—the work.\" Renowned for his meticulously composed black \u0026amp; white photography, Mapplethorpe's portfolio ranged from celebrity portraits and delicate floral still lifes to classical sculpture, nude studies, and relentless documentation of New York City's underground leather and BD*M communities.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe collaboration also arrived at a culturally significant moment. It coincided with two major Robert Mapplethorpe retrospectives at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Getty Museum, as well as the release of the HBO documentary Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures. More than twenty-five years after his passing from AIDS-related complications in 1989, Simons used clothing as a medium to introduce Mapplethorpe's work to a new generation beyond the art world.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHe picked out nearly one hundred photographs spanning Mapplethorpe's career and presented them through a series of oversized garments that acted as wearable canvases while perfectly framing his work. Some pieces featured literal interpretation of individual photographs, such as the Look 31 Gauze shirt, which reproduced Mapplethorpe's 1984 photograph 'White Gauze' on a garment constructed from actual gauze fabric. Others layered or juxtaposed multiple images connected by shared themes to create entirely new visual narratives.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSeen in Look 11, these skinny denim jeans feature a removable apron flap printed with Robert Mapplethorpe's 1977 companion photographs titled 'Pictures \/ Self Portrait'. Sharing the same composition, both images depict the artist writing the word \"Pictures\" with a pencil on a blank sheet of paper. One shows his hand in a leather glove and studded bracelet, while the other shows his hand in a dress shirt.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Upstairs Garments","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52800851247380,"sku":null,"price":499.0,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1022\/3124\/files\/4AB7D0EE-3BBA-4593-9BE8-5A2CB9854056.jpg?v=1783949024","url":"https:\/\/upstairsgarments.com\/products\/ss17-raf-simons-robert-mapplethorpe-pictures-apron-denim","provider":"Upstairs Garments","version":"1.0","type":"link"}