London Collections: Men | Christopher Raeburn AW'13

Today we have some more highlights from when the guys at oki-ni visited London Collections: Men, this time backstage at Christopher Raeburn.

Harking back to a time of British sea power, the young English designer making waves in menswear presents his new AW'13 collection, S-I-G-N-A-L, which expands and develops his signature "remade" aesthetic. 

Military clothing has always been central to Christopher's vision, with an admiration for functional pieces and advanced military fabrics forming the spine of his work. For AW'13, Christopher turns his gaze out to sea, creating a range of clothing for the imagined inhabitants of the Maunsell Sea Forts – the abandoned WWII naval defences off the coast of Whitstable. Consequently, the range of weatherproof parkas, macs, and windcheaters are designed to combat the stern sea breeze. 

The worry might be that with so much function there might not be enough fun, but Christopher adeptly displays his playful side with a range of prints and graphics that add levity to the range – a semaphore print appears on shirting and t-shirts, while a superb all-over map print (first seen in Christopher's AW12 womenswear) references naval charts. 

Delivered with a sense of military precision and no small amount of style, Christopher proves with this new collection why he is regarded as one of the most intriguing and considered talents in British menswear.  

www.christopherraeburn.co.uk