Rag & Bone: Desert dreams

Rag & Bone designers David Neville and Marcus Wainwright seemed to have a journey in mind — over the parched desert sands.  For those of you not quite ready to hit the Sahara, this collection may be the next best thing, perhaps because it’s not obviously desert-y.  You’ll find no safari jackets here, no tribal prints.

Instead, the boys drop hints about travel, and Africa, like breadcrumbs down the runway.  First with a series of tops, dresses and coats in blue and white engineer stripes (are we training down the continent like the colonial mining barons of old?), then surging on with sheer Bedouin tops, a perforated Kalahari skirt and racy leather Dakar pants.  Even racier — a green, cracked-leather moto vest, cropped so high it’s almost a long collar.  In a way, it’s like the models are flying by and you only catch a glimpse of the vest, a peek at that short, cinched mini trench.

OK, fun for a show, but what’s wearable?  That mini trench, for one, and a series of tan skirts and jackets with a black, exploded window-pane pattern.  There’s a simple, bright green scoop-neck sweater that looks snappy paired with those Dakar pants, in satin with green tux-like racing stripes up the side.  And no doubt those sunglasses made in collaboration with Oakley (futuristic visors that almost look like batwings — in black, white or orange) will fly off the shelves. 

Those living in car culture probably won’t have room for the last item down the runway, but city dwellers will rock an awesome neo-nomad vibe in the Coral Ripstop Pantah Poncho — part dress, part outerwear, with a dramatic cowl hood.  Pantah?  Yeah, that’s a coveted model of Ducati motorcycles, the Rolls-Royce of hogs.

See?  Another playful clue. We love these guys. Ladies, start your engines….