How do established brands compete in a TikTok-first, DTC world, where fads spin in and out of fashion as fast as your thumbs can scroll? If you’re Rag & Bone’s Marcus Wainwright, you go back to your roots, opting out of the trend-chasing that has taken hold of much of his competition in favor of a more focused message.
The Y2K phenomenon, for instance? You won’t see it here. Even circa 2001, when Wainwright and his former partners launched Rag & Bone, he was thinking along more classic, essential lines. The LA denim scene was pumping out boot-cut flares, heavy on distressing and stitching embellishments at the time, but Rag & Bone made its jeans in Kentucky from raw selvedge denim sourced in Japan.
A similar quest for authenticity animates this collection. There’s a Harris Tweed coat in the men’s lineup, its collar turned up against a chunky turtleneck sweater, and in the women’s an equally substantial striped wool jacket cut in oversized 1940s proportions that’s shown with a white poplin shirt and faded jeans in a relaxed silhouette.
Denim, traditional English tailoring, and military surplus are the pillars of the label, so the mix also includes some camouflage separates, cargo pants, and shearling collar aviator jackets. Seasonal newness materialized in a blurry floral inspired by Saul Leiter’s photos of rain-soaked New York City streetscapes, and on the men’s side, knits and jeans in becoming shades of pink. None of it has been designed to light up on TikTok, but it doesn’t come with built-in expiration dates either.
