Back when Christopher Raeburn launched his brand, in 2008, it was easy to imagine him building it into a high-end outerwear outfit along the lines of Woolrich or C.P. Company. His reclaimed parachute silk parkas and coats made from dead-stock military wool had exactly the right mix of toughness and polish—and indeed, they still do. But Raeburn s ambitions went beyond outerwear, and he s spent the past several years trying to figure out how to extrapolate his aesthetics and his obsessions into viable and exciting sportswear looks for men and women. The women s clothes have made for a particular challenge—Raeburn is a romantic, but in the way of compulsive readers of National Geographic who dream of mapping uncharted territories. He s struggled to strike a feminine tone.
This season found Raeburn crossing some major thresholds in that regard. His new collection was still tomboyish, to be sure, but there was a sense of poetry to the shapes, and the considered mix of textures had a subtle sensuality. The opening look, a swooping patchworked poncho, served as a statement of intent. Elsewhere, a cape made from a Danish military blanket boasted a similar dramatic flair, while coats in a tweedlike mottled fleece transferred the expressiveness from silhouette to textile. In fact, some of the nicest pieces here were the quietest ones, like the long, side-slit pencil skirts in fine merino or Japanese wool denim, or a trim baseball jacket in that denim and a bouclé-esque fleece. There was a new and decidedly feminine refinement to these shapes.
Still, the National Geographic element came through loud and clear here: Raeburn s touchstone this time was the sea, a theme elaborated through water bubble prints and embroideries, a witty shark motif, and pieces such as the show-closing parka made from a decommissioned life raft. It was present, too, in the emphasis on quilted garments and in looks like parachute silk jumpsuits. The Raeburn signatures remain in place; in other words, he s just extrapolating them in different ways. You might even say Raeburn is mapping new territory—uncharted by him, at any rate.
