This Raf Simons Bomber Jacket Is the Holy Grail of Bomber Jackets

This grail-level Raf Simons jacket is the godfather of one of menswear's biggest trends.

Welcome to Grail of the Week, where we break down one currently-for-sale piece of fashion history.

What It Is: Raf Simons "Pyramid" Bomber

Who Designed It: Raf Simons

When It's From: Spring-Summer 2000

Why It's Grail-Level Today:

Bomber jackets have become omnipresent. They're what jean jackets were to menswear five years ago. And like a classic denim trucker, they're an indispensable part of every modern stylish guy's closet, only sleeker and more modern. They come in every fabric—and lately, fit—you can think of. To wit, fashion basically flipped itself upside down and inside out in 2016, turning oversized bombers into the outerwear choice among industry insiders and more than a few boldfaced names.. Many have credited Vetements' giant-fit, finger-tip covering jackets for the uptick in the bigger-is-better trend, and while that may be true, designer Demna Gvasalia—and plenty of other big brand talents—owes something to the vintage archives of Mr. Raf Simons. Of course Simons has become a menswear powerhouse in the last decade, rising from obscure outsider to front-and-center forward thinker. Simons' designs can be credited with menswear's current obsession with back graphics, baggy prints, and, really, all things youth culture (cornerstones of Gvasalia's own work at Vetements).

So why is this bomber so covetable? According to Raf Simons archivist David Cassavant, it's made of a surplus army jacket which Raf updated with his own tags and prints. It's the high fashion-iest etsy garment around. But there's actual value in being the first of a kind in fashion, and no real obsolescence—unlike the tech world. (As the saying goes, fashion is a flat circle.)

With so much influence and history, this jacket is incredibly hard to find and incredibly expensive if you do (this one will be listed at $6,000 when it's sold off later this month by the masters of, well, grail-level pieces at Grailed). The fact that Simons' design aesthetic was a whopping 16 years ahead of its time is evidence enough as to his talent, while thanks to designers like Gvasalia, the jacket itself looks cooler now than ever. Plus, the pyramid print— which is actually the logo of the notorious gabber DJ conglomerate Rotterdam Terror Corps— kind of makes you look like you're a member of the fashion illuminati.

The Raf Simons "Pyramid" Bomber will be made available for sale via Grailed at 424 on Fairfax later this month.

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