Rag And Bone Designers

Over 500 guests clamored inside Soho House Thursday evening to a watch Rag & Bone duo Marcus Wainwright and David Neville’s spring '12 collection hit the catwalk. Saks Fifth Avenue and Ocean Drive magazine presented the show on an outdoor runway, where models waltzed out to a mix of Radiohead and Cypress Hill on a breezy night (insert collective sigh of relief). It was the same collection seen at New York Fashion Week last September, but for natives who rely on Mercedes Benz Swim Week for big name fashion shows, this was a major deal for SoBe style. We snagged a quick interview with Wainwright a few minutes before the show kicked off and found out about his new Saks Fifth Avenue shop and got the scoop on the brick and mortar location they may be planning in Miami. Luckily, he's done this show before, so the designer was less harried and more good-humored, and the evening was simply divine.

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Why did you decide to come to Miami to show your Spring collection?
"We opened up a little Rag & Bone boutique inside Saks Fifth Avenue Bal Harbour
today. We haven’t finished building it yet. It’s just phase one that’s up right now. So we wanted to bring stuff down to celebrate."

What do you like about Miami?

"The beach!"

Do you have any places you like to shop at when you’re in town?

"It’s only the second
time I've come to Miami, so I don't really have any spots yet. I really don’t shop. I went to Tourneau today to look at some expensive watches that I couldn’t afford. We also went to The Webster because we sell there. It’s a beautiful store and very inspiring to visit."

Regarding your Miami clientele, what do they gravitate towards in your line?
"They gravitate towards clothes that are more summer-friendly for the warm weather down here. So this season, it worked well. It was all about festival culture, '70s surfing, and architecture. I get excited about fabrics and ideas. You got to have things that people want to wear, but if you can build it with a really interesting
theme to it, then it becomes fun."

Tell us about DIY section on your site with models like Miranda Kerr and Karolina
Kurkova. How did that idea come about?

"Oh, that was part of the denim campaign. It was an
idea that, instead of doing traditional ad work, we decided to send models cameras and
our jeans and let them do whatever they wanted without having someone tell them what
to look like. The results are amazing. You see the girls the way they see themselves
doing what they felt most comfortable doing."

You also have a blog on your site. So has social media been instrumental in helping you
sell your label?
"Yeah, it’s been. It’s a function of society today. If you sell clothes there’s a large chance that it’s been influenced by social media. It’s undeniably a huge part of how people communicate and absorb information, so our presence is very important."

Looking into the future, what are you hoping to accomplish here?
"We have a few stores. One
day we might even open a store in Miami!"

Photo: Via Rag & Bone's Instagram, Courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue