Marcus Wainwright opted out of a fashion show again this season, but his Rag & Bone brand still had a moment in the spotlight. Last week, he premiered a short film at the Metrograph. Ansel Elgort and Kate Mara starred, Thom Yorke did the music, and choreographer Benjamin Millepied was one of three codirectors. Rag & Bone clothes naturally played supporting roles. When asked if he or the label he founded lose anything by not presenting on the runway, Wainwright didn’t hesitate: “It’s not the right thing to spend a million dollars on anymore. The film went way further than a show [could]. It reaches many more people.”
Eliminating costly runway productions (and the attendant pressures of designing to a theme and creating shock value) has changed the nature of Rag & Bone collections. “It’s given us the freedom to be very eclectic,” Wainwright said. “You can be more honest to the customer.” Indeed, walking the racks in the brand’s meatpacking district headquarters today felt like riffling through a closet with a little bit of tailoring, a little bit of athleisure, a lot of denim, and, since it’s a Fall collection, plenty of outerwear—from straight-up peacoats and duffels to an on-trend electric blue puffer.
The overall impression was authentic and coolly down-to-earth. (Sporty trainers, colorful rope belts, and bandana scarves did heavy lifting in the lookbook.) “The days of me telling you what to wear are over,” Wainwright said. Still, there was one idea that stood out: He’s going to sell a lot of those snap-fly wool sweatpants.
