Fashion designer Raf Simons was born on January 12, 1968, in Neerpelt, Belgium, and is currently based in Antwerp. He studied industrial and furniture design at university, and after graduating in 1991, he worked as an interior designer at a furniture gallery. Around this time, he was dating Veronique Branquinho. He also interned at Walter Van Beirendonck's atelier until 1993. It was after seeing a Martin Margiela show with Walter that he decided to switch to fashion. He then tried to enroll at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, but Linda Loppa, the school's head of the fashion department, told him there was no need for him to do so. He then started his own brand in 1995. He presented his first collection for Raf Simons at an exhibition in Milan and made his debut at the Paris Collection in 1997-98 Autumn/Winter.
After working on the men's collections for the Italian brand Ruffo Research (SS99 and AW99-AW00), he took a break, but relaunched in 2001-02 Autumn/Winter, forming a design group. His signature style is a blend of structured, linear tailored styles and a boyish vibe. Beautifully draped wide-leg pants are a signature item. Saint Frère handled distribution in Japan (until SS11).
From 2005 to 2012, he served as creative director for men's and women's wear at Jil Sander. It was Raf's first women's collection, and it was well-received. In 2006, he launched his second line, RAF BY RAF SIMONS, which ended in 2011.

In April 2012, he became the artistic director of Christian Dior. To date, he has been in charge of both ready-to-wear and couture collections.
Raf Simons' first Christian Dior 13SS Haute Couture collection