That time Raf Simons designed a furniture collection A thesis project never seen before that was recovered by designer Max Reynders

Raf Simons' career began with industrial design and not fashion. When Simons graduated in 1991 from the LUCA School of Arts in Genk, in fact, he presented as a thesis project a collection of furniture called CORPO that remained largely unknown until recently, when the Belgian designer Max Reynders posted them on Grailed to show them to the world.  The mysterious furniture, which includes various cabinets from the CORPO collection, but also a sofa called AGENA produced between '92 and '93 in collaboration with the Ziggurat gallery,  had been entrusted by Simons himself to Reynders' father, his friend and university colleague when the designer moved to New York in '99. Reynders' father passed them on to his son in 2010. As their thirtieth birthday approached, Reynders felt the need to reveal to the world the existence of these works. 

After appearing on Grailed, the pieces caught the public’s attention. Does the attention they received say something about the appeal of Simons as a designer? 

The appeal of Raf Simons his work can reach a wide range of fanatics, from a younger to an older generation Raf has made his way to the top for a reason. He can make minimalistic pieces but also play with a younger approach with hoodies and graphics. Also with the main focus on youth culture, music and movies, his work can speak to a wide audience. So I understand why it gets attention on Grailed, it’s unseen art, a part of fashion history, unique, and most of all it’s Raf.

Were there any actual buyers for the piece that was put on sale?

We have some interest from Grailed and/or our recent interview with Archive.PDF. These are mostly about art collectors or fashion elitists who will not buy it on Grailed. This is totally understandable, and it also wasn’t our main goal to sell it on Grailed. We did choose Grailed to give the Corpo's awareness. And if we sell on a long-term it will be very important for us where and to whom the pieces will go. They deserve a place in a museum and/or in an important private collection. But we would prefer a public place where more people, or even better, everybody, can enjoy CORPO.