This is not a drill, there’s a Raf Simons exhibition opening

Everybody stay calm. There’s a Raf Simons exhibition opening soon at 032c Workshop, Berlin. Curated by photographer and Simons’ long-time collaborator Willy Vanderperre, the show will chart 20 years of the designer’s work, dating right back to his first collection in 1995. 

While Simons’ creations have been included in exhibitions before (he has even curated several himself) this is the first exhibition devoted solely to the designer since Raf By Raf Simons, which took place at the Pitti Immagine Uomo tradeshow in Florence back in 2005.

At this latest exhibition, Vanderperre’s photographic retrospective of the designer’s work – first published in the Winter 2014/2015 issue of 032c magazine – will be on display. It will be organised to resemble a school locker (the kind decorated with photos and stickers) reflecting Simons’ love affair with youth culture, from which he’s always drawn inspiration.

Simons and Vanderperre have made a soundtrack for the exhibition too, reflecting the harmony of their collaboration. It’s a collaboration that began in their youth and has continued to this day. Simons has tapped Vanderperre for his own campaigns, as well as those for Dior, where he’s been creative director since 2012. The photographer opened up about this relationship in the Spring/Summer 2014 issue of Dazed:

“I met Raf on the terrace of the Wutzli Putzli, one of the hangout spots in Antwerp, in the shadow of the cathedral. I walked by and saw some friends were sitting there. We said hello and they introduced me to Raf. I sat with them for brief moment not speaking to anyone. Later I heard that that intrigued Raf a lot. A couple of days later I bumped into Raf again and we starting talking. We share a lot of the same obsessions and references. We connected and became friends. I started documenting his shows. It was sometimes a video, other times an image or a series – it was all very organic. We have been working together ever since. It’s a collaboration I deeply cherish.”

Head to 032c Workshop’s website for more information about the exhibition. 

h/t hypebeast.com