When it first landed on the scene in 2002, Rag & Bone helped crystallize the undone, laidback uniform of downtown New York: slim jeans and slouchy tee topped with a handsome piece of classic outerwear. Its founders, Marcus Wainwright and David Neville, wove in touches of their British birthright with hints of military regalia and Savile Row tailoring, now drained of any of its upper-crust airs. The result was cosmopolitan and undeniably cool, a brand that helped define the look of the early aughts.
Fast forward some quarter of a century and Rag & Bone is an entirely different beast. Once indie, it’s now global with a couple dozen stores plus a vast wholesale business. The founders have since departed. And in the intervening years the menswear landscape has evolved drastically from rustic suiting to streetwear to nouveau-prep. Many of its early contemporaries—Band of Outsiders, Patrik Ervell, Tim Hamilton—have since gone out of business. One of those brands was Obedient Sons & Daughers, co-founded by Swaim Hutson who, in a turn of fate, is now Rag & Bone’s head of menswear.
For his second season, Hutson wanted to both honor the longtime Rag customer—who, in some instances, has been with the brand for the better part of two decades—yet gently refresh it for a new generation. The busy, well-dressed dads he sees around Brooklyn—so, guys much like Hutson himself—but also their sons. It’s a fine line to walk.
“I was really feeling color,” Hutson said during a trip to the brand’s Meatpacking District office. Last season’s bold red has mellowed into rich emerald green and vivid cobalt blue, rended in buttery suede trucker jackets and fleecy washed-cashmere crewnecks. In fact, mellow is a good word for his entire approach here, as he sought to omit extraneous design details, drill down on fabrics, and gently incorporate bits of the prep movement that has menswear in a chokehold. To that last point there were striped jerseys with slightly dropped shoulders, pleated chinos, and a lightweight cotton jacket in a classic striped blue-and-white that evoked a lived-in oxford.
Hutson gently flicked at classic Rag & Bone propositions: the lightweight, relaxed tailoring remains, and an expanded shirting wardrobe (including casual takes on the tuxedo) are being worked on. And, of course, those hearty coats. One deftly acknowledged the odd fireman jacket trend with just a single metal clasp at the neck; a sleek black leather car coat and overdyed khaki green bomber were also particularly nice. Other highlights included a new straight-leg jean that will be a big focus next year, including a creased-front version that conjured mid-20th century cool, and a tobacco brown suede suit jacket. Taken together it was a thoughtful, subtle evolution, no revolution in sight. And maybe that’s just what the brand needs right now.
