Raf Simons Penelope Hoodie
2003 Spring/Summer “Consumed”

In this design, we can see a woman wearing a mask. She is the model Penelope Tree, at the age of sixteen, attending a party organized by Truman Capote, under the name of “Black and White Ball 1966”. After that look, Penelope caught the attention of fashion´s world and became an icon of female youth. As a curious fact, when John Lennon was asked to define her in three words he said: “Hot, Hot, Hot, Smart, Smart, Smart”.
On the right side of the image that illustrates the hoodie we can notice the iconic shark from Spielberg´s 1975 movie “Jaws” and under the kangaroo pocket the uncompleted word “Diamond Co-Opted”. Let’s try to analyze what this design is trying to tell us.
In this collection, Raf exercises an observation about how consumerism and beign consumed affects the youth. If we extrapolate this thought to the hoodie’s image, we can see a youth icon, which is Penelope, and how she is seen by the eyes of the world. In addition, the shark simbolizes the society, so the whole image represents how any young person who stands out can be easily trapped by the society, which only seeks for entertainment and the morbid, without having any interest for the young guy persona.

Size 46