Raf Simons Collaborator Sterling Ruby To Launch Own Label

The fashion landscape might currently be lamenting a Raf Simons-shaped hole at Calvin Klein, but his long-time collaborator and muse Sterling Ruby is set to start his own brand. The artist, whose prints formed the base of many of Simons’s designs at Dior, his eponymous label and Calvin Klein, where the two recently worked on realising the designer’s popcorn-fuelled vision of America, will launch a unisex clothing and accessories line under the guise

“I’ve always been interested in the behavioural power that comes with clothing,” the artist said in a statement. “For years I have been privately exploring garments as a medium, as something that impacts the way one can think, feel and move. I couldn’t be more excited to finally put my clothing out into the world.”

The LA-based creative has drawn on 10 years of experimentation in the mediums of sculpture, textiles, photography, ceramics and backdrops to define the brand’s aesthetic, which we can predict will be considerably more commercial than his past solo fashion endeavours, such as a series of experimental garments for a 2016 London exhibition entitled Work Wear: Garment and Textile Archive 2008-2016.

So far, an Instagram post depicting abstract prints and a garment pattern are all we have to go off until the launch in June. But, as the industry shifts and major houses, including Calvin Klein, prioritise commercialism over creativity, it’s refreshing to see that artistry won’t be quashed in others. With S.R. STUDIO and Project Loud France – Rihanna's upcoming clothing venture under her Fenty brand umbrella – about to come to light, fashion's forecast already looks a little brighter.