Raf Simons - Updated Mar 2024

Updated On February 12, 2024
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Birthplace
Neerpelt, Pelt, Belgium
Birth Sign
Capricorn

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Raf Simons

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Raf Simons is a fashion designer from Belgium. Raf Simons began his career in furniture design before launching his menswear label in 1995.

Early Life and Childhood

Raf Simons was born on January 12, 1968, in Neerpelt, Pelt, Belgium his age is 54 years as of 2022 and Simons is a naturalized Belgian citizen who practices Roman Catholicism. Similarly, his birth name is Raf Jan Simons, and his birth sign is Capricorn currently, he is living in Neerpelt.

Simons’s father and mother’s name is Jacques Simons, and Alda Beckers respectively. His father Jacques Simons is an army night watchman, and his mother Alda Beckers is a house cleaner. However, there is no information regarding Simons’s siblings.

Raf Simons

Caption: Raf during his young age. Source: Autre Magazine

Education

Talking about his educational background, Simons received his bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design and Furniture Design from the LUCA School of Arts in Genk in 1991.

During this time, Simons met with Olivier Rizzo, Willy Vanderperre, David Vandewal, and then-girlfriend Veronique Branquinho at Antwerp cafe Witzli-Poetzli to discuss fashion, specifically Helmut Lang and Martin Margiela.

Simons began working as a furniture designer for various galleries after interning at Walter Van Beirendonck’s design studio between 1991 and 1993.

Van Beirendonck took Simons to Paris Fashion Week, where he saw his first fashion show—Martin Margiela’s all-white show in 1991—which inspired Simons to pursue a career in fashion design.

Raf Simons – Net Worth 2022

Raf Simons is a professional fashion designer from Belgium and has earned a considerable income via his work. Simons’s estimated net worth is around $20 million. Also, Simons’s annual salary is around $100k per year.

Career and Professional Life

Regarding his career, Simons self-trained himself as a menswear designer and launched his Raf Simons label in 1995. His first collection, which debuted in the Fall/Winter 1995 season, featured two street models in a video presentation.

Simons’ collections were shown in presentations or videos from Fall-Winter 1995 to Spring-Summer 1997. His first runway show was in Paris, France, in Fall-Winter 1997, with a look of ‘American college students and English schoolboys with a background of New Wave and Punk.’

Simons’ early aesthetic incorporated youth culture from a variety of sources, such as the Spring-Summer 2000 collection, which was inspired by both MENSA students and the Gabba youth subculture.

However, Simons closed his company in March 2000 to take a sabbatical following his Fall-Winter 2000 collection (Confusion). Following a new agreement with Belgian manufacturer Gysemans Clothing Industry, the company reopened for the Fall-Winter 2001 season.

Raf Simons

Caption: Raf walking on a ramp. Source: The Cut

In October 2004, the company was restructured with a distribution agreement with Futurenet (Europe and the United States) and Mitsui & Co. (Asia), followed by a license agreement with Future Present (a joint venture of Futurenet and Mitsui Italia).

According to former Arena Homme Plus editor Jo-Ann Furniss, the Raf Simons aesthetic has changed since 2005. Raf by Raf, a lower-priced line, was introduced in June 2005. Simons also published Raf Simons: Redux, a book about the first ten years of his career.

Along with the publication, an exhibition of Simons’ work and an outdoor fashion show were held at the Pitti Immagine Uomo tradeshow in Florence, Italy, to commemorate the designer’s 38th birthday.

Brand Endorsements

Raf has worked with many brands. Raf is a Belgian fashion designer who launched his menswear label in 1995. Simons was the creative director for Jil Sander, Christian Dior, and Calvin Klein, among others.

As of April 1, 2020, he is the co-creative dire of Prada, alongside Miuccia Prada. Moreover, Simons has collaborated with British brand Fred Perry on collections since 2008.

Simons has collaborated with Linda Farrow on a collection of sunglasses for the brand since Spring-Summer 2008. Simons has also worked with running shoe manufacturer Asics since Fall-Winter 2009.

Awards and Nominations

During his professional design career, Raf Simons has won a couple of awards. In 2003, Simons won the Swiss Textiles Award. Likewise, in 2017 he won the CFDA Fashion Award, Designer of the Year (both in women’s and men’s wear).

Raf Simons

Caption: Raf giving a pose. Source: Highs Nobility

Relationship Status

Simons may be single and not dating anyone right now. Also, Simons hasn’t been married before and has no children and it is seen that Simons is quite happy being single at the moment.

On the other hand, talking about Simons’s past affairs, he was in relation with his girlfriend Veronique Branquinho who is also a fashion designer by profession.

Scandals

A major casting director James Scully has slammed luxury fashion house Dior for using only white models in their runway shows.

Raf, the brand’s creative director, was chastised by James Scully, who manages model casting at Tom Ford, Jason Wu, Derek Lam, Stella McCartney, Lanvin, and Carolina Herrera.

Scully even remarked that Simons’ message was similar to that of his predecessor, John Galliano, who was accused of racism in 2011 after a drunken anti-Semitic rant outside a Parisian cafe.

Body Measurements

Talking about Simons’s height he is 6 Feet tall and weighs 70kg. Moreover, Simons’s eye color is blue and his hair color is brown. Also, Simons’s shoe size is 12(US).

Raf Simons – Social Media

Simons is very active on Instagram. He has 1.1M followers on Instagram and owns an Insta account @rafsimons. Moreover, Simons is not available on any other social media sites including Twitter and Facebook. Also, Simons has his website https://rafsimons.com/