He
may now also be the creative director of Christian Dior, but Belgian designer
Raf Simons has continued his long-standing collaboration with Fred Perry for
another season, releasing a 29-piece 'Laurel Wreath' collection for
Spring/Summer 2014. Landing in stores from February 27th this year, the designs
play with bold colour and geometric patterns which feature on sweaters, polo
shirts, scarves and bomber jackets. It may be his 9th collaboration to date
with Fred Perry but it appears that Simons still has plenty of ground to cover
and his designs stand out as much as ever.
One
item from the collection which makes a big statement is a chessboard style
printed polo shirt. Fred Perry describe Simons' take on the classic piece named
'Lady in Blue': "Raf Simons customises the classic 3 button sports shirt
with an in-house illustration, produced exclusively for Fred Perry. The Belgian
designer has distorted the all-over screen print with a large scale check to
give strong impact. Knitted in Italy from a fine quality 12gg pima cotton and
cut with two front darts and ribbing to the hems and cuffs for a slim, neat
silhouette. Buttons, stitch details and the twin needle finish at the hem are
all kept self-colour."
A
statement v-neck sweater which features a subtle print all over also stands out
as one of the key designs from the collection: "Raf Simons brings bold
direction to the classic black V-neck with an all over geometric pattern and
pop colour trims. The jacquard construction has been knitted in Italy from a
fine-quality 12gg pima cotton and styled with vibrant blue and green ribbing at
the wide V and cuffs".
