Pitti Uomo: Rag & Bone renaissance with Swain Hutson

One brand, and designer, enjoying a renaissance at Pitti Uomo is Rag & Bone, where newly installed creative director Swaim Hutson showed his debut collection for the house. 

 
After several years where the brand seemed to stand still, there was plenty of fresh momentum at its stand inside Pitti. From fabric choices and color, to proportion and attitude.
 
“I don’t want to obviously steer away from the DNA of what Rag & Bone has stood for over the years and what Marcus and David started. It’s about keeping the DNA – starting with workwear, denim obviously and then tailoring,” said Hutson, referring to the brand’s two UK founders and cohort, Marcus Wainright and David Neville. 

So, Hutson took those three categories “and just put them in a blender and mashed them up,” for fall 2026. 
 
“That’s the way the modern man dresses, and definitely the way guys in New York are dressing now,” underlined Hutson, pointing to a smart blazer worn with rugby jersey and track pants. 

Much of Rag & Bone’s suiting is made in Portugal, like an increasing number of brands. Hutson comes from a more tailoring background, but was “determined not to be stuffy,” so he mixes lots of suiting separates with sportswear. 
 
Asked what brief did he get when you got the job, he deadpans: “What did Mr. Andrew Rosen tell me? He told me a lot. Nothing major, just more of the history of the brand and that there were no restrictions,” said Swain referring to the famed New York fashion entrepreneur and brand’s de facto CEO.
 
Rag & Bone began life back in 2002 with a pair of raw denim jeans, and Hutson has gone back to a rawer denim aesthetic, with R&B Raw, proprietary to the brand. A new treatment where you wash jeans 20 times without destroying the raw aesthetic, while keeping the fabric soft and supple.
 
“So, it doesn’t feel like wearing sandpaper. It’s raw denim, but modernized for today’s work,” said Hutson.

 
Swaim brings nearly two decades of experience in international menswear to the role. He first won attention by founding Obedient Sons in New York- going on to become a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist. He then held creative director roles at 3.1 Phillip Lim, Club Monaco, and Generra. Before later launching The Academy New York, a label that has established itself within the fashion, art, and music communities.
 
His plan for mixing suiting, denim and outerwear at Rag & Bone led to pairing a denim shirt under a suit jacket, as opposed to wearing an Oxford shirt. The subtle change of style comes as Rag & Bone is upping its efforts in Europe. Today, Rag & Bone is controlled by the WHP Global group, which also includes Vera Wang, Isaac Mizrahi, G-Star and Joseph Abboud.
 
Hutson was born in North Carolina, making him, as they say, a Tarheeler, but now resides in the Brooklyn Navy Yard district.
 
This year, the brand will open a new boutique in Dubai, following on from a fresh store in Amsterdam, adding to one in Germany, and two in London, for a chain of some 30 boutiques. The brand remains primarily a wholesale business though, with over 700 doors and annual revenues hover around $300 million.
 

Rag & Bone originally began as men’s brand, but today women’s wear accounts for 60% revenues, with menswear at 40%.
 
The brand’s other big focus is a project called “Miramar”, a fresh denim aesthetic that is very soft, almost like terry cloth, with lots of looks ideal for travel. 
 
“We’ve opened a couple of small Miramar stores. One is about 600 square-foot inside Moynihan Train Hall, opposite Penn Station which is beautiful. And it’s done tremendous business,” he enthuses about the new Manhattan retail hub.
 
In Pitti, Hutson also showed some strong new colors with bold reds and plaids. Plus, he impressed with more probable proportions – from short, plaid shirt jackets to some really cool faded blue chalk stripe looks. Seen in deconstructed jackets and a natty urban redingote, finished with neat RB logo buttons.
 
Next up, one suspects is a return to the catwalk for Rag & Bone after a hiatus of several years. 
 
“We’re talking about it. It wouldn’t hurt. It’s just about the leadership being confident in what designs we put out. I would love to do a show. I think New York deserves it, and we’re a New York brand, you know,” he concludes.