Luxury Retailer Launches In-House Menswear Line

British luxury shopping destination MATCHESFASHION.COM has launched a new in-house menswear collection titled Raey, adding to its edit of over 400 established and emerging designers. Created by an in-house design team led by Creative Director Rachael Proud (formerly of Christopher Kane and Topshop), Raey is rooted in the belief that contemporary classics should form the core of any well-dressed man’s wardrobe. The line puts subtle and unexpected twists on enduring menswear staples, from the crew neck T-shirt to chino shorts. “Our aim with the first collection was to start with pieces that men are familiar with, but introduce them to new fabrications and fit details – for example, we’ve taken a simple tracksuit and rendered it in cashmere,” says Proud.

Raey Menswear: SS15 Collection

Timed to perfection, Raey’s debut collection is perfectly in sync with menswear’s current appetite for easy, loungewear-inspired styles. Overall, it’s a tight edit of leisurewear classics rendered in luxurious materials and a predominantly neutral palette of navy, ivory and grey, complemented with striking shots of cobalt and yellow. Comprising outerwear, sweatshirts, shirts, T-shirts, trousers and jeans, Raey strikes a careful balance between minimal and of the moment, mixing timeless pieces with a few nods to current season trends, such as pinstripe trousers, slouchy overcoats and tailored track pants. As Simon Chilvers, Men’s Style Director at MATCHESFASHION.COM, puts it: “The first season of Raey is about bringing together a concise edit of wardrobe ideas, designed to balance fashion’s current mood with core menswear pieces.”

Raey Debut Collection: FashionBeans Highlights

Giving some of the most basic menswear pieces interesting treatments is, we’ve discovered, what Raey does best. Take, for example, the chest pocket textured T-shirt (£150) in ivory: a well-executed alternative to the plain white crew neck tee. Crafted from a viscose-linen blend, its lightness – in every sense of the word – makes it a must-own for the warmer months ahead, while subtle details such as an inseam chest pocket and silver-tone metal zip at the back of the neck give this wardrobe staple a sportswear-inspired edge: