yes, Raf Simons closed his own namesake fashion label in 2023 after a 27-year run. He didn't retire, though  he's now co-creative director at Prada, working alongside Miuccia Prada.

What Actually Happened to the Raf Simons Label

Raf Simons showed his final collection under his own name for Spring/Summer 2023, then confirmed the brand was closing. It wasn't a quiet fade-out or a financial collapse story; it was a deliberate decision to shut down the label after nearly three decades, ending one of the more influential independent runs in modern menswear and womenswear. Simons had built the label around exaggerated proportions, oversized tailoring, and a subculture-informed aesthetic that shaped how a whole generation of designers and streetwear brands think about silhouette.

So if you've searched "is Raf Simons discontinued" expecting a straightforward yes or no, the honest answer is yes for the standalone label, but his design work absolutely didn't stop there.

Where a Raf Simons Hoodie Silhouette Lives On Today

The specific look people associate with a Raf Simons hoodie dropped shoulders, a boxy body, elongated sleeves didn't disappear when the label closed. That silhouette had already influenced streetwear broadly by that point, and it continues to show up in Simons' work at Prada, as well as across countless brands that build oversized, drop-shoulder pieces in that same design tradition. Worth being clear here: those pieces are inspired by that silhouette, not official Raf Simons or Prada products, but the design lineage is real and well documented.

What About Raf Simons T-Shirts and Basics

The same is true for simpler pieces like t-shirts. Raf Simons t-shirts under the original label often carried the same relaxed, proportion-forward thinking as the rest of the collection: a looser body, dropped shoulder seams, and a fit that treated a basic tee as part of the same design language as the runway pieces. That approach to basics has become genuinely mainstream in casual and streetwear fashion, independent of the original label's status, which is part of why the aesthetic is still so recognizable years after the brand itself closed.

Why the Brand Closed When It Did

Simons has spoken publicly about the closure being tied to the difficulty of running an independent label at the scale fashion increasingly demands production costs, the pace of the collection calendar, and the resources needed to compete with major conglomerate-backed houses. Rather than scaling the label in a direction he wasn't interested in, he closed it on his own terms and moved into a co-creative director role at a much larger house instead. It's a different kind of ending than most closures in the industry, which are more often driven by financial trouble than a deliberate creative decision.

Raf Simons' Work at Prada Since the Closure

Since joining Prada, Simons has co-designed collections alongside Miuccia Prada across both menswear and womenswear lines. Reporting on those collections has consistently noted the same design instincts that defined his own label deconstructed uniforms, blurred lines between formal and casual pieces, and a continued interest in proportion as a central design idea. If you're looking for his most current work, Prada's seasonal shows are effectively where that creative direction now lives.

How to Tell If Something Is Actually From the Original Label

Since the brand closed in 2023, genuine archival pieces from the original Raf Simons label are increasingly treated as collectible rather than current stock. A few honest signals if you're trying to figure out what you're looking at:

• Anything sold as "new" or "current season" under the original label name is worth scrutinizing closely, since the brand isn't producing new collections.

• Resale and archive platforms are generally where genuine original-label pieces circulate now, often at a premium given the brand's closure.

• Design-inspired pieces from other brands are a separate category entirely — worth enjoying for the silhouette and design language, but not the same as owning something from the original label.

FAQ

1. Did Raf Simons retire from fashion? 

No. He closed his own namesake label in 2023 but continues working as co-creative director at Prada alongside Miuccia Prada, actively designing current collections.

2. Why did the Raf Simons label close? 

Simons cited the difficulty of running an independent label at the scale modern fashion demands, choosing to close on his own terms rather than scale the brand in a direction he wasn't interested in.

3. Can I still buy original Raf Simons pieces? 

Not as new releases, since the label isn't producing current collections. Genuine original pieces mostly circulate through resale and archive platforms now, often at a premium.

4. Is the oversized, drop-shoulder silhouette still around? 

Yes. That design language continues in Simons' work at Prada and has broadly influenced streetwear and casualwear, independent of the original label's status.

5. What's the difference between an original piece and a design-inspired one? 

An original piece comes from the now-closed label itself. Design-inspired pieces from other brands borrow the same silhouette and proportion ideas but aren't affiliated with or made by Raf Simons.

Final Thoughts

To sum it up clearly: yes, Raf Simons is discontinued as a standalone label, closed in 2023 after 27 years, but the designer himself is very much still active at Prada. The silhouette that made a Raf Simons hoodie or a Raf Simons t-shirt so recognizable hasn't disappeared either it's simply living on through his current work and through the broader streetwear world it helped shape. If you love that oversized, drop-shoulder look, it's worth knowing the real story behind where it came from before deciding what to add to your own wardrobe.