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VARaf Simons Fall/Winter 2001-02 Menswear was titled “Riot Riot Riot”, and it marked his return after a one-year break from fashion. The shift was immediate: instead of the slim early-Raf silhouette, he built the whole lineup around oversized layers, bulky bombers, big hoods, striped turtlenecks, and trousers worn heavy and loose.
The collection was sparked by what he saw at a Vienna flea market: young people from Ukraine or Romania piling on layers against the cold, creating their own volume. That real-life layering logic became the runway language, pushed even further with scarves wrapped multiple times around faces, so the styling felt like protection as much as attitude.
The show was staged far from the usual polished venues, in a cold, damp warehouse in Neuilly-sur-Seine, filled with smoke and flashing lights. And the clothes carried the energy of obsession: garments covered with collaged references like Sonic Youth and Joy Division flyers, Christiane F. movie posters, photographs, and scattered text fragments, built the way a fan might DIY a piece before a concert. The use of Manic Street Preachers imagery, including material linked to guitarist Richey Edwards’s 1995 disappearance, even sparked controversy.
This is why “Riot Riot Riot” still reads as a turning point: it made the mood visible. Street reality, youth culture, music devotion, and protective volume, all stitched into a single runway statement.
We are curating archival Raf Simons pieces for upcoming drops. Follow @various.archives, click the link in bio, and join the waitlist to access them before they go live.
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