Last weekend as the Official AW15 Blogger for London Fashion Weekend, I saw Christopher Raeburn’s AW15 catwalk show. There is nothing like seeing designer clothes up close, as you get to view the detail and incredible craftsmanship.
You cannot help but admire designer Christopher Raeburn. Named GQ man of the year 2015 and with over 60 stockists worldwide, his designs and commitment to sustainability have got everybody talking. Traditionally, sustainability and good design haven’t been synonymous. Yet his work has challenged our preconceptions and has been responsible for bringing the concept to the fore, through his re-appropriation of military fabrics. His ‘RE-MADE’ ethos influences every part of his design and development process.
There is no ‘holier than thou’ feel to Christopher’s AW15 collection. In fact it is injected with a good dollop of humour. The sea is clearly the inspiration, with a shark motif being the clear marker of the collection featured on a simple Jacquard knit jumper. One model tucked a shark shaped bag under her arm, whilst another wore shark literally head to toe as a mono conversation print on a jumpsuit.
Renowned as he is for his outerwear, his clothes are decidedly functional. As London Fashion Weekend catwalk host Angela Scanlon commented “His parkers make you wish for a cold drizzly day when it’s sunny outside.” But he clearly understands women. He adds touches of femininity to all his outfits; chiffon peeps out from beneath a quilted mini skirt, fur lines the hood of a duffel jacket and thigh high splits grace his skirts and dresses.
The colour pallet’s focus is neutral: black, blue, charcoal and khaki dominate. Then every once in a while he throws in a splash of genius, with bright vibrant orange. A classic neutral striped duffel coat has an orange fur collar, and he reinvents classics in orange such as the quilted bomber and the wrap cape. Texture is key to his brilliance: the mix of matt fabrics with boucle, ribbing with quilting and panelling on his coats add an extra dimension to the designs.
His AW15 collection is eminently wearable. Christopher Raeburn somehow manages to combine fashion frivolity with practical clothing made in a sustainable way to striking effect. His unique mix of luxury with integrity is leading the way for the other fashion houses to follow in his wake.
Would have thought adding an orange fur collar to a duffle coat would look awful but it’s fantastic.
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I know it looks amazing. I would love to own the shark jumper, though maybe it might scare Daisy.