May the circle be unbroken was Raf’s foray into something a bit lighter and warmer than the seasons before. He expressed an idea of light forms and effortless movement. From 98 Black Palms to this collection Raf was very centered on a darker more brooding idea of a customer yet this is kinda a big pivot point from that into his next chapter. In this collection Raf is still able to conjure ideas surrounding something darker and more occult (the graphics on the sidhartha tee shirt and the almost occult-like line works on the V necks etc.) that oddly enough combined with the setting give this feeling of a cult lost in billowing motion with something more sinister beneath. Aside from this and even if that can be debated, this was Raf’s BIG jump into form and color - the days of riot riot riot’s overblown and oversized rebellious cuts were traded out for some more form fitting and brighter, the pants were given volume and shape and this was again Raf showing his ablility to repurpose familiar graphics outside of their contexts (again the sidhartha shirt as a prime example as it literally is an appropriation of the star wars posters yet hold none of the connotations due to how Raf reworks them) and many could argue that SS 04 May the Circle be Unbroken is kinda what made Raf a viable candidate to take the Helm at Jil Sander. MTCBU is pretty much where people developed this idea of Raf being a minimalist which made him more fitting for Jil where he would go on to REALLY experiment with Men’s form and color to a now legendary degree. Granted looking at V neck tight fit tee shirts and more gender blurred cuts and garments in 2020 makes us want to ask ‘what’s the big deal’ at the time this was seen as a large stepping stone for menswear and ideas now common place- ideas like minimal hoodies that could be a few hundred dollars in cost due to the cut and color, pants that flowed much like women’s trousers but could carry a higher cost than denim, silk tee graphic tee shirts in cuts that were more fitted and played with proportion and the other big standout from this collection, the accessories- MTCBU boasts some of Raf’s simplest accessories (the beaded necklaces, the stone pendant necklaces, the twig) in an era where Raf himself had fed into this large boisterous accessories trend (hell, Raf helped push it!) for him to piviot almost seamlessly to this minimal style was and still stands as a testament to how quick Raf is. To look at MTCBU and compare it to his previous collections is pointless- this collection has elements (the cult-like feel, the more occult and sinister graphics) that yell Raf but also it stands as just a testament to his range as a designer. It would also be important to note this is a full year to 2 years before Hedi Slimane’s Dior Homme slim yet voluminous cuts had come out so MTCBU kinda indirectly pushed the similar idea before Hedi.
@@johnnym9965 thank you so much for such a thorough insight. i have been trying to find more descriptions about the collection. could you point me to sources for further reading??