Corset, 1991 - Raf Simons
Corpo, Raf Simons’s graduation project, created in 1991 at SHIVKV in Genk, Belgium, consists of seven cabinets, each given a name, much like the individual pieces in a fashion collection. Five of these original pieces are presented by Pulp Galerie.
As its name suggests, Corset draws on the form of the corset, a historical garment designed to shape the silhouette. Associated with physical restraint and waist reduction, it has long sparked controversy over the body ideals it imposes. From the 1980s into the early 1990s, however, designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Jean-Paul Gaultier reinterpreted the corset, transforming it from an undergarment into a statement piece within the female wardrobe.
In 1991, Raf Simons transposed this sartorial reference into the realm of furniture. The cabinet stands on long metal legs and features just two widely spaced shelves. This slender construction accentuates its narrow, feminine silhouette, while the corset, when fastened, wraps around the piece, redefining its contours. The object thus occupies a space between furniture and clothing, between functional structure and bodily covering.
A particularly revealing detail can be found on the upper section: a leather panel covered with numerous words and annotations, arranged like a map of ideas. Expressions such as “Body Disfiguration,” “Beauty Culture,” “Corset Coupe” and “The Perfect Body” reflect an exploration of the representation of the body, its transformation and the codes that define beauty.
These inscriptions suggest a process of graphic and conceptual research, in which keywords, sartorial references and lines of thought intersect. They turn the cabinet into far more than a functional object: it becomes a tangible record of the designer’s thinking and his exploration of the relationships between the body, clothing and design.
This line of inquiry also resonates with Raf Simons’s subsequent work in fashion, particularly his approach to questioning silhouettes and established sartorial conventions.
Finally, a subtle contrast runs through the piece: while the corset historically evokes a rigid, restrictive, lace-up structure, its covering is attached to the cabinet using hook-and-loop fasteners. This choice introduces a sense of lightness and unexpected contrast, setting the corset’s symbolic rigidity against a contemporary, almost provisional fastening system.
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