Raf Simons isn’t the first visionary to use duct tape in the name of fashion. (Never forget these high schoolers who made matching prom outfits from six rolls of the stuff.) But when the designer sent coats belted with lengths of tape down his fall/winter 17 runway, it looked supremely cool.
Thankfully, Raf’s custom-printed tape is now for sale. There is a black roll, printed with “WALK WITH ME,” and a white roll that reads “RSYP YOUTH PROJECT” (an abbreviation of “Raf Simons Youth Project”). Both are currently going for $250 CAD (around $200 USD) on the e-commerce store Roden Gray, among other sites.
The tape also stars in Raf’s fall/winter 17 campaign imagery, affixing an “I ♥ you” sweater to a New York City brick wall. The collection marked the designer’s first season showing in New York. It celebrated the grit of his new hometown and the riotous D.I.Y. spirit of youth. “I can only see this city as a city with incredible energy, incredible inspiration, incredible people,” he told i-D of New York in February. “I always pick up a lot from where I live, and I think there’s an incredible freedom in the street, the way the young generation dresses. It’s very strong.”
While the tape is likely intended to cinch coat waists, per Simons’s show styling, what could be more more punk or Raf than taking it off-piste? For a pair of D.I.Y. thigh-high boots or these rad going-out shoes?