Beyond the surface: Raf Simons SS15

Raf Simons conducted his SS15 menswear show with the intention of disrupting the fashion system. Throwing industry hierarchies into disarray, Simons abolished the front row and eliminated the boundaries that separate the catwalk from the audience through the simple gesture of asking guests to stand. It forced people to experience the show in way that was organic – rather than through the prism of an iPhone. As the models wove through the mass of people bathed in stark red light, the audience was confronted with Simons’ personal history through the family photographs that adorned the clothes – all significant mementos. Likewise, it was memories from his youth that inspired this disorderly format. “I was thinking about my early days when I was always clubbing,” he told us after the show, “I liked the fact that we were all standing. Everyone was on the same level and there was no hierarchy.”

In this new series, Dazed favourite Lea Colombo presents a rare, candid glimpse into the backstage world; the other side of the show experience. Taking up the directorial mantle – with her brother Roberto filming, she captures the models with a sense of voyeurism that underpins the personal nature of the collection, documenting the private photographs that decorate the clothes. Colombo immerses herself in Simons’ world, replicating that feeling of inclusion previously reserved for a lucky few attendees. 

See backstage images from the SS15 show below: