I wanted the collection to help people understand Mapplethorpe.

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Simmons.:

FLORENCE CALLING : RAF SIMONS" took place on June 16 at 8:30 pm. . The venue was the Leopolda station building, which opened in 1848. This huge warehouse-like space, which is no longer in use, is also where "Raf Simons" first presented his work at "Pitti Immagine Uomo" in 2003. The venue was dark, and spotlights illuminated countless mannequins clad in irregularly placed Raf's archival pieces, raising expectations for the upcoming runway show. The Spring/Summer 2017 collection was presented. . The centerpiece of the collection was clothing featuring the work of American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The following interview was given by Raf Simons to the media who remained at the venue after the runway show, when he suddenly appeared at the entrance of the stage after greeting his many friends visiting backstage.

. Who decided to collaborate with Robert Mapplethorpe's work?

Simmons.. the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation approached me. . when I was first contacted, I was in a completely different world and was intrigued that they approached me. I wondered if the Foundation wanted to present Mapplethorpe's work in a retrospective way. Of course, I had admired him as an artist for many years, so it was a great honor. From there, I got in touch with the Foundation and I ended up visiting several cities to see all of his work.

. How much time did you spend looking at the work?

Simmons.. it didn't take long. Although there was a huge amount of original work, much of it was well organized and preserved as contact sheets and paper prints. It was interesting to look through the archives, and there were many photos I had never seen before. I had a tremendous emotional impact, and many of the artists I admired were also photographed. For example, portraits of painters Alice Neel and William de Kooning are among my favorite works.

. The boys walking down the catwalk give off a sharp vibe, and I get the feeling that they are playing in a club in the 1970s.

Simmons..: It's inevitable that those elements ooze out. When you look at Mapplethorpe's work, there are many pictures that seem to represent the man himself. Many artists do not connect their personalities to their work, but in his case, his personality comes through very well. . For example, I sometimes feel sexy from his photos of flowers. I think these things should be taken seriously, and I find such works beautiful.

I think it is important to express his work in its purest form by the way he uses canvas, on a plain canvas or against an empty wall, calculating the distance from the body and arranging the works in an orderly fashion. It was a more practical way for me than showing them in a gallery or museum.

For me, it was also a great challenge to present the clothes in such a way that they emanate emotion from the pieces placed on the body, so that the public, whether they are looking at his work in a gallery, museum, or in a photo book, or any other audience, will see this collection as a natural part of their viewing experience. It was a big challenge for me. . and I wanted to create a collection that would be understood and moved not only by those who love his work, but by others as well.

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Simmons.. this big challenge lasted several months and required explaining to many people. We are very grateful to the foundation for making Mapplethorpe's work available, and we were able to meet Alice Neal's family. When you do a collaboration like this, the first thing you have to do is explain to the people you have to contact, and that's where we started, but sometimes it wasn't a simple process.

In some cases, we could not find contact information to verify portrait rights because it had already been several decades since the images were taken, so we had to do the research on our own. The difficulty was complex and difficult, and we had to perform three actions: create a collection, give an explanation, and obtain approval ....... As a result, we were able to get approval from all of them.

Please tell us why you chose Pitti Immagine Uomo as the venue for your presentation. It seems like a contradiction to present your artistic and creative worldview in such a commercial place rather than in Paris, but what do you think about that?

Simmons.: I've never felt that way and I have nothing but good memories of Pitti. . exactly here at Leopolda Station. When I was just starting up the brand, I was proposed to do a show, and when I was shown the past materials, I had no idea what to do, and I decided not to just let the models walk around with vague clothes on them.

The result was a documentary-like collection, including an apartment with no exterior walls, where two boys lived and partied together. Then, 11 years ago, we also had a runway show. . We presented a collection, a photo book, and a film, so we did not want to do that kind of presentation this time.

But I wanted to come back to Florence . . because the people are great and Lapo Cianci [Director of Communications and Projects at Pitti Immagine Uomo] is a great personality and has a great sense of style.

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Simmons.:

Raf Simons

. was born in Neerpelt, Belgium in 1968. While studying industrial design at the School of Design in Genk, he interned with designer Walter Van Beirendonck.' After graduating in 1991, he became a furniture designer, but his strong interest in fashion led him to establish his own brand in '95 at the suggestion of Linda Roppa, director of the fashion department at the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts.' In 1997, he presented his brand for the first time at the Paris Men's Collection. While continuing to work on his own brand, he also worked as the creative director of Jil Sander for about six and a half years from 2005. He then became the artistic director of Christian Dior from '12 to '15.