FASHION WEEK PRE-EMPTION: Rag & Bone Beats The Fashion Week Crush With Lil Buck & Baryshnikov

Did you get a nice haul out of today's Rag & Bone sale?
Well, you should. There's plenty of good stuff from last Fall, and when you get home, you can preview the label's line for next Fall a week ahead of Fashion Week and in the comfort of your own home (or just watch the video above).

Rag & Bone designers David Neville and Marcus Wainwright have been chafing at the limitations of showing their men's collection on the runway for several seasons now, and like a growing number of New York menswear designers, they are leaving New York Fashion Week to their women's collection. "I look at shows online and it's kind of boring to be honest, to see this repetitive stream of models walking down a runway," Wainwright tells GQ, "We've done that before, we don't need to do that again. We need to evolve as a brand, and how we show needs to evolve." Rather than just offering an informal showing of their men's line out of the official schedule —which they did last night— they have also let the public in on the presentation, not just with a live-streamed runway shuffle, but with a mesmerizing video starring dancing wunderkind Lil Buck and and the most celebrated living ballet dancer, Mikhail Baryshnikov. Since he officially retired from ballet some 20 years ago or so Baryshnikov has continued to explore all kinds of other dance, and at at an astonishing 67 years old, he's still at it. Putting Buck and Baryshnikov together is the kind of thing that thrills dance fans, and it makes for a clever and often funny video.

As for the collection, it carries lots of the familiar Rag & Bone hallmarks, but with a healthy dose of technical performance-wear inspiration and more directional plays on layering and volume. "I think this all feels very different for us, but still very Rag & Bone," Says Wainwright, "I think the idea of people being able to be active is very important." As Fashion Weeks continue to get bloated with runway shows, it's good to see designers finding alternatives that are a departure without feeling like a step down from the old fashioned catwalk.

Rag & Bone's Marcus Wainwright on Ninjas, Movement, and Tears (The GQ Eye)