As Raf Simons aged, his legendary portrayals of youth became reflective, rather than reactive. Gone were his days of having a keen sense for the ficklest of zeitgeists, but his age bestowed upon him a more complete view of the growth one undergoes when becoming an adult, having lived through the beginning, middle, and end of such a complex phase. He cited his fall 2008 work as being about the moment in a young man's life when he begins to define himself, and Simons chose to express this through highly fitted clothing, which emphasized the bodies of his youthful models, capturing the time when young men become comfortable with their bodies, a key moment in emotional maturity. Amongst the most striking offerings were the coats dyed red across the breast, cascading through a spectrum of hot colors down to an ashen grey, as to suggest a phoenix rising from ash, an exceptionally sly metaphor for the reinvention one undergoes when transitioning from childhood to their young adult years.

This spacious duffle uses the same phoenix design. All of the items featuring this gradient were hand-done and produced in extremely limited quantities. It’s atypically luxurious for this era of Raf, made in Italy and featuring a supple leather body beneath the wool felting, alongside meticulous detailing including magnet closure on the side flaps, three different storage compartments, thick zippers, and a tag for which to place an ID card.

Condition: 9/10. No significant flaws.

Dimensions: 22” x 9” x 13”