Back to the Old School

NEW YORK, United States — A bad runway soundtrack can make you hate the clothes. (Or at least like them a lot less.) But a good one can be a turn-on. At Rag & Bone's Autumn show, the intense drumbeat — brought on by Atoms for Peace drummers Mauro Refosco and Joey Waronker and composer Kris Bones — amplified the lineup instead of distracting from it.

Designers Marcus Wainwright and David Neville chose to show women's and men's in tandem this season, with models heading from backstage in pairs. It worked because the two collections were speaking the same language, with nods to British and American military dressing, British tailoring and all manner of sport, in particular motocross.

“It felt like an opportunity, doing men’s and women’s together, to make a statement about what Rag & Bone stands for. It was old school,” Wainwright said after the show. “Quintessential tenets. Just fucking cool girls who know how to dress, who have their own style and put it all together bravely.”

Wainwright said that the models were enthusiastic about the collection in their fittings. It's no surprise. There was plenty of great-looking stuff here, from his-and-hers versions of safety-orange down sweaters to straight-leg denim, patchworked with fabric turned inside out below the knee.

The second women’s look — a button up, matched with a tie waist skirt in a tiny red-and-navy check — nodded to those ideas of British tailoring, while the outerwear — leather-tipped fleeces and baseball jackets, shearling-lined parkas — was sporty and just distinctive enough to anchor a winter wardrobe. On the men’s side, the complementary coats and jackets were just as good, with more camouflage incorporated into the mix.

Both collections excelled when the designers were riffing on modern classics. On the other hand, the motocross series in the middle of the women’s lineup was hit and miss. While the track pants will do and the leather colour-blocked racing jacket had a comic-book appeal, the colourful jersey was too NASCAR. But never mind that. In all, this collection did Rag & Bone’s original missive justice. A nice moment for them.

To view the menswear looks of this collection, click here.