RAFT
SURVIVAL. ENDURANCE. IMMERSION.
MENSWEAR
RAFT
What happens when an object designed for survival becomes the starting point for an entire collection?
For RAFT, RÆBURN began with an extraordinary artefact: original 25-person life rafts, unused but beyond their operational life, complete with the equipment, rations and survival tools originally packed inside.
Designed to sustain people adrift in extreme conditions, every aspect of the raft had a purpose. Its high-visibility upper canopy was engineered to attract attention at sea; the black rubber underside provided protection; reflective markings, graphics and functional details communicated information when it mattered most.
RAFT SHOW
Rather than simply taking inspiration from the object, we took it apart. The upper sections were carefully deconstructed and RÆMADE into vivid orange and yellow parkas, bombers and accessories, retaining original graphics, reflective panels and evidence of their previous function. The contrasting black rubber hull became a field jacket, allowing the architecture and material intelligence of the original raft to determine what came next.
FROM SURVIVAL SYSTEM TO DESIGN SYSTEM
RAFT demonstrated how one RÆMADE experiment could become the catalyst for something much bigger.
The original life raft established the collection's palette, graphics, materials and narrative, but its functional intelligence also prompted entirely new experiments. The principle of inflation was translated into inflatable latex jackets, gilets and bags, supplied flat and inflated by the wearer to create adjustable volume, insulation and protection.
From there, the world of survival at sea travelled throughout the wider collection. Shark and shark-tooth graphics appeared across Merino knitwear, prints and accessories, while an oversized shark holdall brought humour to the RÆBURN animal-bag tradition. Japanese wool denim, British Hainsworth wool, bonded cotton, technical nylon and quilted outerwear translated the original provocation into a complete and increasingly refined wardrobe.
What began with a single surplus object had evolved into an entire design language. Material, colour, graphics, function and even the principle of inflation itself were extracted from the original artefact and reinterpreted in new ways.
INSPIRING WHAT COMES NEXT
The story of RAFT continues today.
A RAFT bomber jacket, Royal Navy survival life raft box and shark bag now sit within the collection and displays of the Young V&A in Bethnal Green, London, as part of a wider presentation exploring the extraordinary power of design.
For us, there is something particularly meaningful about seeing these objects in that context. An artefact originally engineered for survival became the catalyst for experimentation, garments, products and an entire collection. Those ideas have now travelled beyond RÆBURN again, becoming objects through which a new generation can encounter design, materials, resourcefulness and the possibility of looking at the world differently.
That feels particularly relevant to what RÆBURN has always tried to do; inspire people to ask different questions about the objects, materials and resources already around us.
