Digi-Discussion: Christopher Raeburn

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Since the beginning of my sustainable fashion journey in 2018, a couple of designers have stuck out to me. Not only for resonating with my ever-evolving values aligned with environmental justice, but for translating these values into tangible craft of wearable masterpieces. If you're a sustainable fashion advocate, then RÆBURN is definitely worth having on your radar, so allow me to introduce RÆBURN and it's talented founder and Creative Director, Christopher Raeburn...

Who is RÆBURN?

Christopher Raeburn graduated from London’s prestigious Royal College of Art in 2006, before going on to work as a freelance pattern cutter for a handful of London fashion houses. In 2008, however, focusing his energy on the launch of his own brand RÆBURN, to passionately pursue creating ethical menswear; womenswear, luggage and accessories.

The ‘re-appropriation of military fabrics, in particular for iconic outerwear’s created from decommissioned parachutes’, quickly became synonymous with the brands identity, as RÆBURN began to establish itself as a key player of innovative sustainable practices and mould-breaking aesthetic in sustainable clothing. RÆBURN's first collection, ‘Inverted', was a capsule collection of reversible garments which debuted at London Fashion week. Today RÆBURN now has an extensive portfolio of collaborations under his belt where ‘distinctive aesthetic, meticulous detail, considered functionality, and sustainable intelligence’ has been channelled to challenge public perceptions of what eco-fashion should look like. Through a mastery of up-cycling, recycling and innovative sustainable techniques, every decision the brand makes is underpinned by its 4 R’s; RÆMADE, RÆDUCED, RÆCYCLED, RÆBURN.

Christopher Raeburn shares his enthuse for eco-fashion with the community via the Hackney, London, based RÆBURN Lab, where ‘attendees are invited to design and customise their own items using off-cuts from the atelier’. A clear vision for providing customers with sustainable fashion, designed with integrity, purpose, functionality, with a unique creative stamp, make RÆBURN one of the most exciting brands amongst the circular fashion movement.

As such, I’m humbled to have had the chance to ask Christopher Raeburn about his passion for the industry, his intuitive fashion creations and vision for the brands future...

The Interview

How do you think RÆBURN aligns with the circular fashion economy?

Ever since our inception in 2009, we’ve done three things; RÆMADE, RÆDUCED and RÆCYCLED. The RÆMADE ethos in particular has pioneered the reworking of deadstock and surplus fabrics and garments to create innovative, functional pieces. Alongside this, the RÆDUCED and RÆCYCLED product lines strive to further eliminate waste and minimise our impact. More recently, we launched a new pillar to the brand titled RÆFOUND; a non-seasonal range of original, unworn military apparel and accessories. It really stands as a systemic solution to the mounting environmental and inventory crisis, with nothing new and nothing wasted. Altogether it’s an ever-evolving brief to push ourselves and the industry forward, and to truly close the loop.

For SS21, you announced that you would “not produce anything new”. As you noted yourself, that’s a radical move for a designer. How do you hope people will respond to ‘RÆBURN RÆJEUVINATE’, which looks to challenge consumer infatuation with newness?

We need to make less, but better. SS21 RÆJEUVINATE will encourage people to think differently; what can be upgraded, evolved or improved. We see this as one part of a potential solution, and hopefully an inspiring one for other businesses and individuals.

Who do you think holds greatest capacity for igniting change within the fashion industry, brands or consumers?

I think we’re at a really exciting time where both the push and pull is increasingly evident. You’ve got enough customers and people in the community saying they expect more, holding brands accountable for their actions and questioning relentlessly. Businesses have no choice but to take note of this, and it's inspired new ways of thinking all the way down the supply chain. Ultimately, you need both brands and individuals to fuel the change, and it’s these interconnected movements that are bringing me hope.

RÆBURN offers tours and workshops which enable people to experience the brand. Fashion experiences can help develop community and sentimental attachment to clothing. How has Covid-19 altered the way people get to experience RÆBURN and your designs?

Despite the physical distancing we experienced during the height of the pandemic, we actually became more connected than ever before through digital. Our team tested and experimented rapidly, ramping up our community engagement via projects like ‘Raeburn At Home’ and the ‘RÆBURN Connects’ series, which we then also optimised for London Fashion Week Men’s back in June. Overall, it’s really democratised and elevated Craft, Creativity and Community whilst allowing us to amplify our message globally.

What impact do you envision RÆBURN having on the fashion world?

Ultimately, we’ve always tried to do things differently; we want to change the world through responsible design. We see our work as a provocation for others to learn from, to educate and inspire. And whilst we’ll continue to pioneer in our own way, we firmly believe this is not all about us as a brand – it’s about a whole movement. We all need to work together to make that difference and make a real positive change.

Instagram: @christopher.raeburn @raeburn_design @raeburn_lab

Facebook: @RaeburnDesign

Website: http://www.raeburndesign.co.uk

Image Credit: Heiko Prigge

Christopher Raeburn in a Digi-Discussion with Annabel Lindsay.

WANTED: Creative Waste Engineer!

Pandemic Pandemonium

2020 has challenged fashions purpose. Does it offer escapism through subjective desires, that temporarily liberate us of overwhelming stress, from the changing world around us? Or, in light of heightened social; economic struggle and uncertainty, is decadent performances of indulgent abundance, a shallow response to the more grounded, arbitrary needs of society?

On top of changing narratives around what consumers expect from fashion brands, jobs and businesses face unprecedented economic strain, with small; independent businesses being hardest hit. UK retail recently re-opened but Covid remains an overruling presence, through the necessity of face coverings and social distancing measures. Brick + mortar retail has changed and the course of fashion for all working within it has changed too. If a second wave of Covid-19 can be avoided, the UK’s unemployment rate is likely to rise to 11.7% (from the current 3.9%), by the end of the year, the highest level since 1984.

Linear Fashion Failing People + Planet

These uncertainties run throughout fashion’s supply chains. In March, Remake launched the #PayUp petition in ‘response to reports coming in from suppliers, that brands had cancelled in-production orders as a result of retail constriction’ due to coronavirus.

What does this all mean? Well, the linear fashion system is fundamentally flawed and failing to safeguard the livelihoods of its employees, both literally (i.e. garment factory workers job security), and figuratively (i.e. justifying the need for out-dated job roles that, involve weekly new collections being designed and produced). For those in fashion, from manufacturing in factories to buying at a head office, this can only be an unnerving time. So, how can we engage people through new economic prospects, which centralise people over profit but are still economically viable and sustainable?

My circular fashion research often explores consumer perspectives. However, only focusing on consumer benefits of circularity, neglects identifying its potential opportunities for the 60 million people worldwide employed within fashion. With apparel and footwear generating EUR 1.5 trillion in global revenue, fashion is an economic superpower. Increasing resource scarcity, consumers ‘insisting on sustainable practices, and employees rightly demanding safer working conditions’, shows this power hanging in the balance. As we seek to protect the long-term viability of fashion, new business models are now not only desirable, but vital.

Systems Thinking

I hold firm that capitalism is, by design, an exploitative system and it’s possible for a restorative; regenerative economy to thrive outside of capitalist ideologies. As conduct of exchange, an economy is still an ideal part of society as we know it, however, a circular economy strives to put people and planet first. ‘Every year, $460 billion is lost to the economy, just from the underutilisation of clothes. That’s value that the circular economy can help the fashion industry to unlock,” says Francois Souchet, lead at the Ellen MacArthur’s foundation Make Fashion Circular initiative’.

An economy detached from environmental; social exploitation appears almost radical in the face of capitalism, when it should be the norm. And it’s exciting to think that we could be on the verge of embracing it as such, as potential business opportunities within circular fashion are emerging.

Immensity of Opportune

‘In an industry first, Fashion for Good, in collaboration with Accenture Strategy, explored financial viability of circular business models in the fashion industry’. The report explored ‘three circular business models’ (One-off rental, Subscription-Rental and Re-Commerce), across four industry segments: The Value Market, Mid-Market, Premium and Luxury, using a bottom up approach to calculate margin on a per garment basis. They found ‘all three models to be financially viable for existing fashion retailers, presenting opportunities that could drive a higher margin per garment compared to the current linear model’.

(Fashion For Good) 

Finding Balance

Under fast fashion’s competitive time pressures, creating and collaborating with true meaning and sentiment is compromised for mass, fast production. The saying ‘less is more’ comes to mind but in capitalism, money is the tool in the game of life. People whom are passionate about fashion for what it means to us culturally and socially, deserve to work without being burdened by the environmental negations and creative constraints of linear fashion production.

With a large proportion of fashion jobs orientated to fit the mould of linear systems thinking, heading off job creation within a circular fashion system will present challenges. If the industry is reluctant to change with shifting consumer behaviours, then the future and purpose of existing fashion jobs may become more uncertain and opportunities for new creative ventures may be missed.

We must move with the changing times, to secure planetary health and livelihoods. Amidst vast societal change, I wonder if there’s a way to spin extra-prevalent fears of unemployment and job loss in a changing fashion industry. How can we offer job security through the changing face of fashion? Dismantling the current system entirely and building back better may incur more immediate results. But safeguarding jobs deems a transitional approach to circularity more socially responsible.

For the livelihoods dependent on the fashion industry, it would be irresponsible for me to tell you not to shop ever. Small; independent brands are not deserving of the same ‘boycott’ response fast fashion giants arguably are. Besides, by 2030, 8.5 billion people will require clothing in some form. Simultaneously, how can brands of all scale support behaviour change and create jobs, whilst actively seeking to reduce environmental harm? Value-ambition will entail finding balance between transition and being able to secure livelihoods. This process may require trial and error, so that overall, we continue to learn and grow, as part of the bigger solution for good.

Government Advocacy

Brands that implement circularity could benefit from lower production costs, new profit opportunities and strengthened customer relationships. For this to work, we need frameworks implemented that protect local livelihoods throughout a supposed circular transition. Which is why government advocacy and support is needed. We need to be pushing governments to change legislation and policy to facilitate this as identified throughout Ecopreneur's Circular Economy Advocacy Report, such as changing VAT for recycled fashion or eco-brands. We need investments in circular infrastructure, like recycling centres and smaller scale, government incentives to opening businesses supporting circular fashion advancements, like grants for repair and up-cycling workshops.

“I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there is no path, and I will leave a trail.” – Muriel Strode

If we successfully implement a circular fashion system from grassroots level and beyond, then there really is a seemingly limitless breadth of opportune to be explored. ‘There’s no sector or region left untouched by the potential for reinventing systems, products and services in a fashion that ultimately creates no waste and even regenerates natural systems’. With potential job opportunities in the circular economy including:

· Product and packaging designer

· Circular investment specialist

· Customer service, beyond purchasing

· Reverse logistics manager

· Product lifecycle manager

· Creative Waste Engineer

(Fashion Revolution fanzine #002 Loved Clothes Last, 2017) 

A 2015 WRAP report predicts that by 2030, on the basis of the current development path, the circular economy could create over 200,000 gross jobs and reduce unemployment by about 54,000 in the UK alone. Granted this doesn’t take effects of the pandemic into account but it’s still a promising proposition, with countless creative avenues to be explored.

Creative Communities

Fully maximising resource efficiency and shared accessible infrastructure could see circular implementation within localised communities re-defining how we live and work together. One approach involves bringing back pride into local manufacturing and making, as more localised supply chains could create new jobs and put back into local economies.

Conserve India is a social enterprise providing employment opportunities to waste pickers, one of the most marginalised groups in urban India. Offering them up-skilling of labour through a circular model applied at grassroots level (Ahuja, 2020). Conserve India tackles India’s plastic pollution crisis by transforming plastic waste into fashionable products, offering skilled employment opportunities in the process.

Pre-lockdown, I was part of a theoretical project looking into Manchester’s Northern Quarter and how to rejuvenate this creative community with circularity. We explored how local business owners and residents could cross-collaborate with implemented systems and infrastructure, that establish circularity from the ground-up (click here for project). There’s something powerful in the idea of building something together. Humans have always been makers and creators. Enabling communities to co-create new paradigms of working, interacting and residing within their local environments is just one of the social benefits of a circular economy. Specifically, on the fashion front, it opens new avenues to rethink out-dated linear, fast fashion dominated, high-street interactions.

This social capital blueprint isn’t confined to the Northern Quarter. A community project in Berlin looked into mostly female-led micro-organisations ‘aimed at demonstrating the possibility of embedded urban-based small-scale fashion social enterprises which are under-pinned by a commitment to local production and consumption practices, thereby bringing some degree of vitality and female-led economic activity to neighbourhoods and an alternative to chain store presence and mass produced items’. Offering ‘embedded forms of job creation where ethical fashion and urban regeneration enter into partnership’.

Cross-industry collaboration could enable resources to be used maximumly and circulate responsibly, serving multi-purposes for different stakeholders. If we can facilitate such transformation, communities around the world could thrive not only economically but in an environment of restored wealth in more meaningful metrics. Global wealth in the form of health and education. Clean water systems and breathable air. Wealth in meaningful work where we are safe and have the opportunity to explore our creativity and ideas. Wealth in fashion that hasn’t cost the planet...

‘‘Circular’ approaches – to the city, the economy, design – extend well beyond just limiting environmental impacts. They take on a more systemic, cyclical view of how physical and biological processes, together with human interactions, give rise to sustainable living environments – forming a complete self-sustaining ‘ecosystem’. - Michiel Schwarz

Annabel Lindsay

Non-Linked Sources:

Ahuja, A. (2020) Webinar: Deploying circular Economy at Grassroot level. Online Event: Hecho x Nosotros and animaná.

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