Christopher Raeburn, the environmentally-conscious brains behind RAEBURN, talks exclusively to The Pink Prince about his plans for his hugely successful brand and what makes up his ‘functional’ wardrobe.
TPP: What inspired you to make sustainable clothing?
CR: The truth is, I did not set out to start a sustainable company and it came about initially as more of a happy accident, while the core values of the brand developed naturally overtime. For me, it is all about considered design and functionality. It was more my fascination with military materials, utilitarian clothing and essentially functionality that led to the RÆMADE philosophy organically.
TPP: In your opinion, what is the future of sustainable fashion?
CR: I am hopeful that the future of fashion will largely encompass sustainability and it is great to already see so many bigger brands re-considering their approach to design. However, much of the global fashion industry is still very environmentally damaging and there is a long way to go before the industry, as a whole, reaches a sustainable level. Thankfully, there are more and more brilliant people out there driving initiatives in transparency and responsibility among fashion brands.
TPP: Your recent collaboration with Timberland was a big success. What was the best part about joining forces?
CR: Timberland is a brand I grew up with and has been long known for its responsible approach to design, so to have the opportunity to work for such an established brand was a great honour. Both RÆBURN and Timberland have a shared passion for craftsmanship, innovation and responsible design, so it felt like a natural step to collaborate.
TPP: If you could collaborate with any brand, which would it be and why?
CR: Hmm good question. I’m not too sure I want to name any brand, one thing I know is that we want to start collaborating with brands outside of the fashion world. Furniture and art are two areas I’m interested to explore…
TPP: What future plans do you have for the brand?
CR: In the longer term, we are committed to responsible design and applying this to everything we do. In the brand’s next chapter, we are looking to further close the loop in future collections, in line with our commitment to producing zero waste in the RÆBURN Lab.
TPP: If you could give yourself a piece of advice five years ago, what would it be?
CR: To start small and focus on one thing, rather than trying to do everything at once.
TPP: How would you describe your style?
CR: Functional