Marcus Wainwright was remembering his grandfather’s favorite sayings. “RTFM” stood for “read the fucking manual.” It was passed down through the family tree, often repeated by his father on Christmas morning; these days, it’s a dictate that has proven useful in his own life as a dad. “Any fool can be uncomfortable” is a little harder to parse, but Wainwright thinks the phrase has applications at Rag & Bone, where tailoring is becoming a bigger part of the offer (though not your grandfather’s tailoring, for sure).
Like other makers of menswear, Rag & Bone looks more formal than it did prepandemic. Wainwright pointed to a shirt with eagles swooping across the torso as exemplary of the new dressier sensibility. In the look book it’s teamed with a pair of pleated trousers with volume through the thighs. The outfit brought Bryan Ferry circa the 1980s to mind, which is not a bad thing. This season’s quote-unquote suits have a modern sensibility. Maybe there’s a drawstring waist on the pants or a zip front on the jacket instead of fussy buttons. Or maybe it’s a matching jacket-and-shorts set in a graphic jacquard that looks almost like a monogram, with a silk button-down underneath. More dandyish than Rag & Bone has looked in recent times, but still comfortable. Wainwright’s grandfather would get it.
