Masculinity, Identity and Body Politics in the Interzone: A Queer Perspective on Raf Simons’s Critical Fashion Practices (1995–2005)

Abstract Belgian designer Raf Simons is internationally known for his leadership in avant-garde menswear and his willingness to break with conventional perceptions of masculinity. Nevertheless, his intervention in this field has not been the subject of a thorough academic investigation to date. Focusing specifically on the revisioning of the male body and men’s fashion in Simons’s critical fashion practices, this article aims to offer an original reading of the designer’s work. Drawing on queer theory, I will theorize the image of the interzone, which has been dear to the designer’s modus operandi, as a queer trope that allows Simons to critically engage with masculinity, identity and body politics. By building a theoretical bridge between the fields of fashion studies and queer theory, the article seeks to expand the literature on Belgian fashion and the Antwerp fashion scene, providing a perspective on its relationship with masculinities, the body and queerness.