In Part One of Humberto Leon’s interview with new OC collaborator Raf Simons, the boys talked growing up in Antwerp and now in Part Two it’s on to music, fanning out,  designer idols and womenswear.

We were talking about the kinds of music you’re into. What else were you influenced by in the early days of your label?
There really was no other visual communication besides television and record sleeves at that time. My village did not have trendy magazines like i-D and The Face. But I’d take train trips to Antwerp. You had access to everything there.

Totally! Over the years though, have you been able to meet a lot of the musicians and bands you love?
I finally met Kim Gordon at the Met Ball this year. The first presentation I ever did—before I started showing—was just a couple of boys that I was filming with Sonic Youth music.

You also talk about TV a lot. What kind of TV programs were you into when you were growing up? 
When I was a kid, I was obliged to watch the Schlager Festival [laughs], which my mom was obsessed with! Then there was an early evening program called “Top Pop.” It was Dutch but they got everybody on it. It was sublime. Everybody was on it: Debbie Harry would be there in Stephen Sprouse, but when you’re young you don’t really recognize these moments at the time.

The last thing I wanted to ask you: is there a reason why you’ve never done womenswear under the Raf Simons label? Because I know a lot of women who wear it!
Originally the intention was not to do menswear only. The intention was just to start making clothes for a young generation that I could relate to. It was more for practical and economic reasons that I had to choose to only do men’s in the beginning—because I was making all the clothes myself. But women have always responded to the clothes after the shows so sometimes we do make a piece in women’s sizes. I think lately especially I’ve been seeing a lot of guys wearing women’s clothes and women wearing men’s clothes.

Read the complete interview here.

Jamie-Maree Shipton