Belgian fashion designer Raf Simons was BOTD in 1968. Born in Neerpelt to a military family, he showed an early interest in design, undertaking an internship with Walter Van Beirendonck while still at high school. He studied industrial and furniture design at the LUCA School of Arts in Genk, starting his professional career as a furniture designer in Antwerp. Mentored by Linda Loppa, head of the fashion department at the Belgian Académie royale des beaux-arts, he became a self-trained menswear designer, launching his own menswear label in 1995. His debut collection featured sombre, minimalist designs inspired by New Wave and punk culture, developing a style referred to as “urban guerrilla”. He closed his company in 2000, taking up an academic post at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. He returned to fashion in 2005, opening a second line of menswear, Raf by Raf Simons, and was later appointed creative director for the German fashion house Jil Sander, expanding his focus into womenswear. He also developed collaborations with British menswear label Fred Perry, running shoe brands Asics and Adidas, and bag manufacturer Eastpak. He was dismissed in 2012 by Sander, who resumed creative control of the label. Later that year, he replaced John Galliano as artistic director of menswear for Christian Dior, following Galliano’s dismissal for anti-Semitic abuse. His 2012 womenswear collection was highly praised, featuring re-interpretations of Dior’s famous designs including the Bar jacket, chronicled in the 2014 documentary Dior and I. He resigned after three years, becoming chief creative officer of the Calvin Klein fashion empire in 2018, and overseeing all aspects of design strategy, marketing and communications. Shortly after his appointment, he brokered a three-year partnership with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, giving him unprecedented access to utilise Warhol’s visual archive. His 2017 collection was praised by fashion critics, though failed to ignite equivalent commercial success, leading to his resignation in 2018. After a two-year sabbatical, he became co-creative director of Italian fashion house Prada in 2020, working with the label’s founder Miuccia Prada to reinvigorate the brand. Discreetly gay, Simon had a long-term affair with bisexual German artist Sterling Ruby, with whom he collaborated on numerous design projects. Highly protective of his personal life, his current relationship status is unknown.