Belgian designer Raf Simons is regarded as one of the most influential designers in not just men’s fashion today but has been a staple in the world of fashion over the last ten years. With Raf Simons finally becoming a household name to many Americans through his collaborations with Adidas through his interpretation of the Stan Smith, being referenced on various songs from artists like A$AP Rocky and Frank Ocean, to recently being named the Chief Creative Officer of American brand Calvin Klein. Raf is growing his personal brand in America more and more every year, which would make many questions why is he moving his always highly anticipated men’s fashion show back to Paris?

After a string of three shows all shown during New York Fashion Week Simons has decided to almost go back to his roots with a show in Paris. Although the Belgian designer did not attend university or schooling in France he has close ties to the country through his own personal endeavors in fashion. Raf both studied and fell in love with fashion while studying furniture design in Antwerp, Belgium a place synonymous with all fans of fashion due to the famous Antwerp Royal Academy and their prestigious fashion program. He would convene at a cafe in Antwerp with many of his friends and they would discuss their favorite fashion brands and designers. Through these interactions with his friends Raf would end up attending his first fashion show in, you guessed it, Paris. The first show he ever saw was Martin Margiela’s all white show in 1991 and this show inspired him to ditch the whole furniture design dream and take on fashion design.

This show in Paris is going to be Raf Simons returning to his roots. He has done many of his shows in Paris but after this brief hiatus from the Parisian fashion scene expect him to come back with a bang. Coming off a lot of buzz from his last show in New York that saw a runway covered in food and drinks meant to look almost like a dinner party gone awry but took a much darker theme of drug abuse as an inspiration for his runway and his collection. This show was perceived as one of the most anticipated and after one of the most revered shows of that New York Fashion Week. We are sure with Raf Simons Men’s collection being slated to show the same day as Off-White, Valentino, and Undercover that he will have people leaving impressed and fans of Raf anticipating to buy this collection.