Nobody Touch A$AP's Raf!

Throughout the years there have been many artists and performers that took it to the next level to connect with their favorite fashion designer or fashion house, like Pharell and Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld, for example. But nobody – and we mean NOBODY – does it like A$AP Rocky!

 A$AP Rocky is probably one of fashion's sought-after rappers. He is certainly no stranger to collaborations, having a hand in everything fashion from a collection with J.W.Anderson to fronting a Dior Homme campaign. Yup, A$AP has let his oh-so-cool and super-stylish bad-boy style shine all the way to the catwalks. However, it seems there is a special place in his fashion-savvy heart for a special someone. Since shouting out "Raf" in his 2013 track "Fashion Killa" to proudly parading his creations on red carpets and onstage, it is crystal clear A$AP is drawn to Simons and his brand. Or more than that – perhaps an obsession? Or reverence? Whatever it is – we like it, oh yeah!

RAF, an ode to A$AP's long-time friend and go-to designer Raf Simons, the A$AP Mob track that premiered last May, the rapper clearly states "Please don't touch my Raf". Ok, dully noted. But that's not all. The rapper's admiration for Simons hit a new high a few days ago, in the VHS-style video clip for A$AP Mob's "RAF". A$AP Rocky's homage and tribute to his talented body Raf looks like an animated lookbook combined with a 90's music video. Produced by AWGE, A$AP's internal art direction team, the video includes the rapper himself, Playboi Carti, and Quavo model a series of all-time-favs pieces from the Raf Simons archive, courtesy of Grailed, a "curated community marketplace for men's clothing."

 The beginning of the clip shows a shrouded A$AP Rocky holding a flare, a nod to Simons's Spring 2002 show in which the models sported masks strutting down the catwalk holding lit flares. From there, it's a throwback to Raf's beat creations over the years, like the taupe New Order "Touched by the Hand of God" jacket from 2003, the graphic trench from Fall 2014, or Raf Simons x Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation shirts which Playboi Carti wears. You will also spot the "poltergeist" parka from Fall/Winter 2006's "History of My World," a few pieces from Simons' Fall/Winter 2016 collaboration with Sterling Ruby and more recent pieces like an ombre-dyed sweater from Spring/Summer 2016. According to A$AP's stylist, Matthew Henson, most of those items were incredibly rare and very hard to come by without he help from Raf and his team. Well, good job, team!

 After all this hard work, we better head the warning to don't touch A$AP Rocky's RAF.