RAG & BONE’S NEW LINE IS A GRATIFYING ADVENTURE IN TOUGH AND SEXY DESIGN

BY JOHNELL GARMANY

The rag & bone brand has been famed for a utilitarian chic and effortlessly style since its 2001 launch, priding itself on its “fundamentals in design and fabrication” focus. Started by Brits Marcus Wainwright and David Neville—neither of whom had any formal training—the upstart company “immersed itself in the time-honored techniques of supremely skilled, local manufacturers at some of the oldest factories in the country,” according to a rag & bone press release. “[To produce] innately wearable clothing that melds classic tailoring with an edgy yet understated New York aesthetic.”

Both men’s and women’s collections through the years have heralded trends and changed for the times, while maintaining the brand’s basic artisanal roots, evoking a past-meets-present-meets future wear ability factor. Put simply, it weaves timelessness into innovation.

Rag & bone’s Spring-Summer 2016 lines fit all of the above requirements, with new ready to- wear pieces that are classic yet modern, wearable yet fashionable. Tough and sexy, they gain inspiration from industrialism more than romanticism, while keeping just enough edge. The women’s collection features an array of transitional seasonal garments (from tank dresses to light jackets), with a basic black-and-white color palette, but with pops of chartreuse, navy, and tomato red. Sporty in a femme way, and ambidextrously pretty.

Styles for the guys take a slightly more subtle approach, with a palette of whites, blues, and greys, keeping things cool, calm, and collected. Sporty meets trendy and mechanical to create a crisp line of transitional gear with a balance of day and night pieces. Pure and soft in both hue and fabrics, they are also strong and in both structure and design.

The work is, in short, a perfect balance of pushing the boundaries without completely breaking the mold, and the results are wearable yet editorial pieces.

Garmany of Red Bank 121 Broad Street, Red Bank / 732.576.8500 / garmany.com