Ranra designers Arnar Már Jónsson and Luke Stevens are well aware that on first sight their fall collection doesn’t look wildly different from the previous two; but they are confident that the clothes fit and feel better. The designers returned to being completely hands-on, which is maybe why the outdoor clothes they shot inside in artificial light, as Stevens put it, reveal not only the model’s shadow, but that of someone adjusting a look or two. This figure is not an Icelandic Huldufólk, who the designes introduced to a wider audience with their spring 2023 lineup, but it is a perfect representation of the stealth approach of this duo. “Unless you experience the clothes, they are quite understated, obviously; but that’s always our approach,” said Jónsson on a call. A Ranra garment, he continued, “is not really the screamer in your closet, but it’s the piece that you may cherish the most.”
In today’s live-out-loud fashion environment, this kind of “steady as she goes” way of working seems almost rebellious, as it rejects the idea of constant newness in favor of obsessive improvement. The duo spent a lot of time traveling with the collection, beta-testing it in a way, and can confidently describe one adjustable bag with snaps as a carry-on because they tested it airline-by-airline while on the go. The pants in look 14 make use of a bonding technique from outerwear that allows a brushed cotton lining to be applied uniformly on the inside, including the waistband. The idea, Stevens explained, “was to make it feel like you were wearing a pair of pajamas.” Aiming for lightness as well as softness, the team moved all the functional pulls to the outside of the garment; the seams, finished with sealing tape, are also on the exterior of the pants. The result is that “it feels like you’re wearing nothing”—in the sense of airiness and ease of movement, that is.
Jónsson and Stevens do want their customers to feel like they are wearing fashion, however. While gorp-core adjacent, Ranra is not an outdoor gear company, though it is friendly to the environment, as it is made using natural and upcycled materials. Those magnificent, rich, glowy colors you see are all achieved using natural dyes. Fall’s challenge was to add a bit of romance to the utilitarian and functional aspects of Ranra’s designs so you’ll want to wear them not just for protection–but for any reason. As Jónsson put it, they’re “a little bit more sartorial,” while still eschewing trends. “There’s a sense of timelessness [to what we do,]” noted Stevens, “you can’t always place the garments specifically.” IYKYK.