Raf Simons moves his label's runway show to New York FW

By

Kate Dingwall

Published
Oct 22, 2016

On February 1st, Raf Simons, the creative director behind his namesake menswear label, will show his first collection in the United States. The menswear designer has been showing at Paris Fashion Week since 1997 except for his most recent collection, shown at Pitti Uomo in Florence.

Simons' departure from Paris Fashion Week was announced Friday morning by the CFDA. The move to New York City is largely because of Simons’ new role as creative director at Calvin Klein. Simons was appointed the creative director of Calvin Klein in August of 2016. NYFW: Men’s Fall/Winter 2017 season will mark Simons’ first season as creative director of the American label.

Steven Kolb, President & CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, had this to say about the Belgian designer’s move stateside: “Raf is one of the most influential designers on the international fashion stage. His creativity and energy are a welcome addition as we continue to grow this important platform for American menswear.”

Simons has been an influential force in the fashion industry for almost two decades. Prior to his appointment at Calvin Klein, Simons spent three successful years as the creative director of Dior (until 2016) and seven at Jil Sander (until 2012).  Simons launched his namesake label in 1995 and has seen much critical and commercial success.

Simons' move is big news for the CFDA. The Men's week has been suffering due to many American labels choosing to integrate menswear into their women's collections or simply choosing to show in Europe.

As of now, it is not yet known where in New York Simons will show his collection.