03 “Closer” Raf Simons Bauhaus Knit
Extremely Rare Raf Simons AW03 'Closer' Runway Ivory Bauhaus Wool Knit
update: A tiny Size 46 just sold for 6k recently.
Size 52
Shoulder: 19in
Pit to pit: 22in
Back of collar (bottom of turtle neck flume) to bottom length: 26.5in
Sleeve length (shoulder to cuff): 26in
Condition: 8/10, the most notable condition issues are the receding parts on the cuff and waist band, as well as a little bit of fraying hidden under the ribbing of the neck. There also appears to be some darkening on the elbow that isn’t really an issue. Considering the age and extreme rarity of this item this isn't too worrisome.
Details:
The piece needs little introduction to collectors. A coveted and rare archival grail, the most sought after and revered knit/design from Raf's celebrated AW03 'Closer' collection, the same collection with the famous Peter Seville parkas.
A heavy duty, multi-stitched 100% wool knit with Bauhaus graphic detailing. Ignoring the piece's archival properties, the knit is exquisitely well crafted, and executed to a very high level, which was common for Raf hero pieces from this time period, especially those from aw03.
The knit is made from heavy duty wool with a handmade herringbone stitch construction that creates a unique and substantial effect. The graphic is achieved by dual toned herringbone stitching, the hem and cuffs are chunky and ribbed while the high collar thick and adjustable, able to be warn high or low.
Incredibly rare, nigh-unattainable and certainly will not be seen again in this color-way for some time, it is a beautiful archival piece from Raf Simons.
This piece and collection in general can be seen as a connection between the close relationship of arts and music; with album designs doubling over as examples of particular art styles.
*[Background History]*
For AW03 Raf was granted full access to Peter Saville's design archives, an artist he had a great affection for, Raf used Saville's designs for many of the pieces in the collection. A musical subtext reoccurred throughout collection, resulting in the use of the famous Bauhaus logo as well as the Power, Corruption, & Lies flower graphic. The logo in this case is mostly a reference to the English post-punk band, known for their dark image and gloomy sound as well as being one of the first gothic rock groups.
Link for "Closer" runway show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hVu-kYvlgI
The infamous logo was originally designed by Oskar Schlemmer in 1922 and related to the German school of fine arts and crafts founded in 1919. In short summary, the school was responsible for early architectural and artistic minimalism. For example, "Bauhaus architecture" in a neighborhood would be those clean, cube-like houses with muted colors and large glass windows.
Bauhaus Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus
*This art movement should also be noted as heavily leading into the De Stijl movement of simplistic color blocking and rectangles popularized by Piet Mondrian, and interestingly enough used by Raf five years later for the infamous "De Stijl" Hiking boot made famous by A$AP Rocky in the video "Angels" that sell for quite a bit of money.
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