New York fashion brand Rag & Bone exhibited at the recent Pitti Uomo 107 menswear show, where it presented its latest collection and provided information on its operational evolution, about a year after it was acquired by Guess in partnership with brand management firm WHP Global. Los Angeles-based Guess, founded by the French Marciano brothers, currently controls Rag & Bone’s entire operating activities, and owns the brand’s intellectual property jointly with WHP Global.

FashionNetwork.com learnt the latest about Rag & Bone in an interview with Executive Chairman Andrew Rosen, who was appointed in the role less than nine months ago and is tasked with overseeing the business’s overall strategy, as well as its senior executive team. Rosen is working closely with Guess co-founder and creative director Paul Marciano, and Guess CEO Carlos Alberini, as well as Yehuda Shmidman, president and CEO of WHP Global.
 
Rosen spent the early part of his career at Calvin Klein, and in 1997 he co-founded the Theory label, spearheading its growth as CEO for over 20 years. He is currently a busy investor and mentor to several US fashion brands, including Alice + Olivia, Veronica Beard, and TWP.

Fashion Network: How is Rag & Bone progressing along its new path after the acquisition by Guess/WHP, and what are its strategic goals?
Andrew Rosen: What Guess and WHP appreciated the most about Rag & Bone were the brand’s strength and its loyal clientele. Our shared ambition is to continue to boost the brand through further marketing initiatives, retail expansion, and new activations, especially in Europe. We’re planning to open several monobrand stores in Northern Europe this year.
 
FN: Have you hired new executives to lead this phase?
AR: Guess has offices and resources throughout Europe, which we at Rag & Bone are leveraging in order to expand and contribute to our growing business in the region. Designer Robert Geller joined the brand in January 2024, adding his extensive experience to our menswear collection. Both we and our customers are really excited about what he has created for us.

FN: What does Rag & Bone’s range currently consist of? Will it be broadened to include other product categories? Does exhibiting at the recent Pitti Uomo show imply you’re planning to expand in Europe, initially in Italy?
AR: Rag & Bone is renowned for combining traditional British tailoring with classic American workwear and denim products. In 2025, we will continue to expand our lifestyle assortment by collaborating with various partners in categories like watches, handbags and eyewear, both for our direct retail channels and our commercial partners.
 
Pitti Uomo is an extremely important platform for reaching a new audience with our brand. We see expanding into Europe as the next logical step for our company. We have always had a strong position in the UK, but we’re now planning to extend our retail footprint into continental Europe, especially in Germany and the Netherlands, where we will open our first store in Amsterdam, later potentially entering Sweden, Norway and Belgium.
 
Among our new openings, the most significant will be a 2,000-square-metre flagship in Düsseldorf, our second physical store in continental Europe. Our expansion plan also includes the opening of new stores in strategic locations in Germany’s leading shopping districts, in Munich, Hamburg and Berlin, and a third store in the UK.
 
FN: The upcoming addresses asides, how many monobrand stores does Rag & Bone operate?
AR: Rag & Bone has a very solid DTC platform, comprising over 50 monobrand stores worldwide [across the USA, the UK, Australia and Japan]. It is also distributed via multibrand retailers in 53 countries, and has a highly efficient e-shop; the DTC channel accounts for 60% of our business.

FN: What was Rag & Bone’s 2024 revenue? How much did the brand generate in the domestic market, and how much abroad? What is your revenue forecast for 2025? Which product category is your bestseller?
AR: We closed 2024 with a revenue rise of more than 20% over the previous year. We’re expecting the same growth rate in 2025, if not more, while we’ll continue to broaden our product categories and our presence in the direct retail and wholesale channels.
 
FN: What are your main markets?
AR: The USA account for over 75% of our business and is our largest market, but the company has very ambitious plans for expanding its presence globally.
 
FN: What is your products’ price range?
AR: Our T-shirts sell from €90, jeans from €200, and tailored items from €500. As far as outerwear and leather products are concerned, these are items with retail prices up to €2,400. We have a wide range of prices depending on the product category. In terms of design, quality and price, Rag & Bone is positioned at the top end of the contemporary market.
 
FN: How many employees do you have? Are you planning to hire more staff?
AR: We currently have about 500 employees in the USA. A number that will continue to increase as we implement our global expansion strategy.

FN: Where do you manufacture your products? In the USA only?
AR: Our sourcing range is highly diversified. We produce less than 10% of our products in the USA, but as a modern, contemporary fashion brand we source fabrics from top producers, and we manufacture our products in some of the world’s top factories.
 
Product-wise, the Rag & Bone Fall/Winter 2025-26 collection presented at Pitti Uomo is called ‘This Must Be the Place’. It is inspired by the New Wave music movement and the energy that characterised New York in the early 80s, a blend of punk, pop and avant-garde influences. Mixing retro and futuristic elements, the collection pays tribute to that period’s youth culture, featuring a mix of tailored items, sophisticated outerwear, and knitwear. There is a special focus on denim, including the debut of a new range of innovative denim called ‘Infuse’. Its items are created from raw denim, and undergo a complex finishing process that creates fresh, authentic looks.