Raf Simons is betting that if he makes it, people will buy it, regardless of what it is.
That seems to be why he’s now selling rolls of duct tape for $250. Of course these are not your average spools of tape, found at any average hardware store. These iterations, in black and white—both with red font—are carefully branded by the Belgian designer. He first debuted the unexpected accessory at his Fall 2017 runway show, the brand’s first show in New York, when the designer decorated checked blazers and fuzzy overcoats with strips of tape that read “Walk With Me” and “I ♥ You.”
“According to Simons, the time is now to discard your belt. In place of the proper leather waist cincher, the designer simply cinched models in tape,” the Observer wrote this past February, directly following the runway show. It appears our belt-free prophecy is now coming true.
Similar to the statement sock from Vetements, that costs upwards of $100, designer stamps from J.W.Anderson and Supreme’s forthcoming range of branded chopsticks, sake sets and shovels, it appears that unassuming designer accessories are the newest must-have luxury item. Which raises the question: if it isn’t branded, is it even worth buying?
