Fashion career profile
Raf Simons
Raf Simons is a Belgian fashion designer whose work moves between youth culture, industrial design and the codes of established fashion houses. Trained in industrial design, he launched his namesake menswear label in 1995 without formal fashion-design training. His house appointments include Jil Sander, Christian Dior and Calvin Klein, where he led distinct creative remits rather than one continuous career. Since April 2020, Simons has shared Prada’s creative direction and decision-making with Miuccia Prada; the partnership covers the house’s creative work and is not a solo appointment. Alongside that role he maintains his own label. His profile records the co-directorship explicitly and keeps his prior house leadership separate, helping readers distinguish a collaborative creative structure from a single-director model. From 2000 to 2005 he taught fashion at Vienna’s University of Applied Arts, bridging his first label decade and Jil Sander appointment.
- Role
- Co-Creative Director, Prada; Founder, Raf Simons
- Nationality
- Belgian
- Age
- 58
- Career appointments
- 4
- Fashion houses
- 4
- Collections led
- 4
- Verified awards
- 3
- Veronica Leoni Steps Down as Creative Director of Calvin Klein CollectionHypebeast Fashion · 2026-10-15
- Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons Make a Case for ComplexityThe Impression · 2026-09-22
- Education: Industrial design, LUCA School of ArtsHis official biography says he graduated in industrial design before launching his menswear label. · Raf Simons
- Prada: Co-Creative Director with Miuccia Prada from April 2020The appointment announcement specifies shared creative responsibility and decision-making. · Prada Group
- 1995 — Launches his independent menswear labelThe first collection begins a design practice informed by industrial design and youth culture.
- 2020 — Begins co-creative direction at PradaSimons joins Miuccia Prada in a shared creative structure.
- 2020–Present — Co-Creative Director — PradaCurrent appointment · Prada Group
- 2016–2018 — Chief Creative Officer — Calvin KleinHistorical appointment · Prada Group
- 2012–2015 — Artistic Director — DiorHistorical appointment · Dior
- 2005–2012 — Creative Director — Jil SanderHistorical appointment · Prada Group
- 2018 — Raf Simons — Womenswear Designer of the YearVerified fashion award
- 2017 — Raf Simons — Menswear Designer of the YearVerified fashion award
- 2017 — Raf Simons — Womenswear Designer of the YearVerified fashion award