How important is it for you to remain connected to the art world? And why is it important for you?

It’s natural. It’s like breathing and drinking. It’s very natural. I am not working with anybody the way I see big artists and big brands work together. It’s not that kind of relationship. I have had a relationship with Mapplethorpe since forever. Not with the foundation. The Sterling thing is something thats been building for 11-12 years now. I will do other things with Sterling. It’s very natural.

Do you think about going beyond collaboration and going into other mediums?

Thinking, yes. But I will not do. Not now.

Because of time? Or that your creative expression is best focused on fashion?

Definitely not because of time. That would not be a reason. It’s always horrible, time. If you’re convinced about something, you will manage it. It’s not that, I think it’s more that if I would step into another field it would require full dedication. People have been asking, why would you not want to be an artist, sometimes we think you’re an artist. But no, I’m not an artist. I’m a fashion designer. If ever I would do it, there cannot be fashion anymore in my life and I would do art. But how are you going to erase 21 years of fashion?

Helmut Lang did it.

Yeah. He kind of did.

And Tom Ford made a movie.

[Raf does a small bow in his seat] Really. I bow for that one. I find it really mind-blowing. The work that has to be done to get to the point that this movie is coming out, aside from doing the collections. Wow. I find it mind-blowing. I don’t know if I could do that similarly. I think that I would just want to, not erase, but try to have a clean slate. I can’t even say what it would be. There are a lot of things that inspire me. But I would probably have a fear to do art. Because it is the world that I still kind of idealize probably too much.

Do you feel like at some point in your career you turned a corner and went from being a hot contemporary designer to being a legend who is adding to the legacy of his career?

It feels always the same. Nothing feels bigger than many, many years ago. Nothing feels more important than many, many years ago. What feels new to me is how people look at the brand. There is this hunt for pieces. That is a very new thing for me. Honestly speaking, the first moment it happened I was like, Oh, am I getting old? They started to collect it. I started to see pieces going to auctions. It’s like how I perceived old brands. Like, ah this brand from a very long time ago. It’s weird to experience it when I feel in full bloom. But then it’s nice, also. I would be like that for a Helmut piece or Martin piece, but they’re both out. The brands exist but they’re both out. I’m completely in it still, and I’m starting something new again now.

Riot Riot Riot Camo Bomber, Fall-Winter 2001 Henry Leutwyler Kanye West Getty Images

Well, there are plenty of young people just getting into fashion and discovering your past collections, and people want to find and own those pieces. Especially when Rihanna or Kanye are seen wearing them. What do you think when you see people wearing the past collection?

Rihanna, famous, or unfamous people that go into the old collections—the weird experience for me is that it makes me feel like I am from yesterday. But I understand. I do it myself. I go to things that come from the past and mean a lot to me... this thing from the past that I think is an incredible foundation and I know it’s going to last forever and I’m going to like it forever. I guess it’s the same for them. I’ve had my archive my whole life—you know, you’re a designer, you have to keep your archive—but lately I’ve started to be very, very protective about certain pieces. Because all the time they disappear. They go to an exhibition and don’t come back… I was never really worried, but lately, now I seal it, also. 266 looks that were in the exhibition in Florence, now they are sealed, packed, well taken care of. They will become important in the next seasons for some things we might do. I started to realize: You have to take care of your archive. It has a relevance to people and to the world. Certain companies do not hold a good archive and it is almost sad. I understand the nature of it. Somebody like Jil did not hold an archive because she did not have that thing with the past. She was just like, get rid of it, get rid of it, get rid of it. Always the future. And I was actually very much like that. I didn’t get rid of it, but I wasn’t paying too much attention to it. Always romanticizing the future. And now I start to understand that it has an importance and I should care about. I know it’s important. And for a long time I thought not. But it is important. Otherwise there wouldn’t be pyramids.