Raf Simons made his triumphant return to Pitti Uomo with his latest collection. The designer showed the anticipated Spring/Summer 2017 pieces as part of a larger retrospective that celebrated his career.
The latest collection continued Simons' tradition of teaming up with artists. He's worked with the likes of Sterling Ruby, David Sims, and Peter Saville in the past. This time around it was a collaboration with the late photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Simons featured various images from the famous photographer's archive, including some of nude men.
One jacket in particular featured a large black and white image of an erect penis. Several other pieces featured portraits from the photographer, including one of his iconic image of Dennis Speight holding flowers taken in 1983.
Mapplethorpe became known for his photographs during the '70s and '80s. He worked to document sexuality in a way that many had never seen before.
In 2003, Simons worked with Pitti to curate "The Fourth Sex. Adolescent Extremes," an exhibition and corresponding book that explored the complexities of youth, and seems to share a similar theme to today's show.
You can watch our stream of Simons' latest show below.
