It’s easy to wax lyrical about Raf Simons, partly as a byproduct of his incredible prolificness. But to understand the influence he’s had on young men growing up after the millennium – not just their clothes but their lives and sensibilities – it’s necessary to acknowledge that Simons anticipates how they will feel before they even feel it. His Spring/Summer 2002 collection, entitled ‘Woe Onto Those Who Spit on the Fear Generation… The Wind Will Blow it Back’ showed models barefoot with their heads and faces covered, carrying torches and wearing slogans like ‘We Are Ready and Willing to Ignite, Just Born Too Late.’ The collection went on to become one of Simon’s most influential, even though arriving unfortunately at the post 9/11 era, he feared it might end his career at the time. What Simons wanted showcase was a generation of freedom fighters, of idealist young men, ready to fight and willing to find a reason, a sentiment that in many ways, predated the outdated, claustrophobic, ready-to-burst masculinity of the later 2000s.