LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – The sharks were circling the tank at Christopher Raeburn earlier these days. Raeburn couldn’t have picked a far better image to touch to the perspective required to survive the progressively competitive marketplace. With each alternative designer gunning to capture the audience’s vote on the second day of London Collection’s Men, Raeburn’s men turned predatory. Citing “survival, endurance and immersion” as his place to begin, the triumph designer ably titled the collection “Raft”.

If actor Robert Redford taught us anything from “All is Lost”, it absolutely was that the seas are mean and survival is all concerning being capable and adjustable. Raeburn’s show today saw actual lifeboats being deconstructed and re-stitched into adorned parkas and bomber jackets. Latex rubber was used to produce expansive vests that bore resemblances to classic puffer jackets while accents of red punctuated the otherwise dark palette, conjury pictures of signal flares released within the night sky.

Christopher Raeburn seals his name as a designer who cares deeply about performance. It makes excellent sense that he was also appointed creative Director of the first swiss army knife company, Victorinox. In true form, his clothes these days are as technical as they’re are aesthetically pleasing. Finally, “sportswear” isn’t used as a promoting meaninglessness for menswear designers to suggest functionality; instead, it’s been baked into the development and fabrication of the clothes. British Millerian waxed cotton, high-quality Italian nylon and heavy-textured fleece were just a few of the worth propositions the ruling UKFT Menswear Brand Award recipient introduced to weather the elements. And despite however turbulent the storm, Raeburn proves he’s at the highest of the food all over again.