“We’re not dressing her for a trip to St. Barth’s,” said designer David Neville, distilling the city-dwelling habits of the Rag & Bone woman in one fell swoop. Stripping down the denser layers of fall, Neville and his partner Marcus Wainwright got to the nitty-gritty of a working winter wardrobe with Resort 2012. Last season’s kilt was paired with a tailored charcoal blazer and that sharp asymmetrical line ran through a chestnut-and-black leather dress too. Nonetheless, they kept an eye on trans-seasonal pieces, and even the coziest of shearling vests would make sense with the colorful Rag & Bone denim pants that are flying off the shelves right now. “Just two straight guys faffing around with chiffon,” joked Wainwright about the sheer slip peeking out from under a fantastic two-tone peacoat (for stylistic effect only, in case you were wondering.) Although to be honest, the sweeter, lighter maxi skirts and palazzo pants that did appear in the collection are not to be scoffed at, and play into larger themes of feminine utility this season.
Neville and Wainwright built a business on trusting their instincts, and now international expansion is on the horizon. If everything goes according to plan, they’ll be opening a store in London. It’s the kind of strategic move that fashion Svengali and Rag & Bone investor Andrew Rosen would appreciate. Funnily enough, Rosen named one of his racehorses after the brand, although he hasn’t had a winning streak with it yet. As for the odds on Rag & Bone’s European success—we’d say that’s a sure bet.