COMMENT Our ethos at Raeburn is what we call the 3R’s — “remade, reduced, recycled”. It’s all about considered impact and responsible design. When it comes to new projects, it’s paramount to us that we align those values and apply our overall ethos.
The Lab E20, our new creative hub at Get Living’s East Village, is ultimately an amplification of what we’ve done for the past 12 years. That hub brings together the local community, Newham and the wider London creative sector.
What we’ve tried to do is really question waste, repurposing and material usage. For example, what can we do to reuse items before making something new? If we use something recycled, can it be recycled again afterwards?
Finite resources
I’ve always been incredibly fascinated by military garments and artefacts, something that stemmed from my youth in the air cadets. It wasn’t until I was at university that I started really working with surplus materials, in part because it simply was a more resourceful way of working, and the process interested me.
The momentum really built during my years at the Royal College of Art — and Remade in England was born. Responsible design is really about common sense; making something beautiful, of the highest quality and function, whilst having the least negative impact.
The last five years, and particularly during the pandemic, have starkly evidenced the environmental crises that we’re in. Now, more than ever, we need to consider our finite resources. The reality is, we fundamentally need to change everything we are doing as people — and the more we work together in harmony with the planet, then the better we will be.
According to the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, 80% of any product’s impact is decided at the design stage. When you take that into account, selecting lower impact materials, using more efficient construction techniques, and considering the complete life cycle of the product is key.
Again, it comes back to common sense for me — when we already have such an abundance of perfectly functioning resources available, why would you look to virgin materials? Sustainability aside, it’s also incredible storytelling when you have history and meaning to the materials. It’s a win-win.
The Lab E20 incorporates all this thinking. We have utilised fully circular materials in the fit-out; either upcycled or recycled, which can also be fully recycled at the end of their life. For example, we have turned these super high-quality, decommission British military parachutes into curtains, alongside original Life Raft containers and military benches as mobile units.
Further to this, we have input flexible fixtures that can be easily repositioned and adjusted to change the layout of the rooms, such as adjustable pulley system rails. Fixtures are also packable and free standing to protect the integrity of the physical building.
Utility and integrity
Whilst the development industry is entirely new to me, I’ve always had strong opinions about good and bad architecture. I’m a particular fan of the utility and integrity of architecture, which you find in brutalism for instance, such as Le Corbusier’s first Unité d’Habitation.
Generally speaking, good architecture to me evokes a sense of hope, modernity and inspiration through the use of light and an innovative application of materials. In contrast, my least favourite buildings are those that are not designed with longevity in mind.
East London has had a special place in my heart since Raeburn’s brand formation on Fish Island, Hackney Wick, back in 2009. My first studio was in fact in a peanut factory, before relocating in and around the area, and then settling in our Raeburn Lab within the old Burberry Textile Building.
All in all, this area has an incredible history particularly in clothing manufacture, so it seems only fitting that we are based here today. That it is now home to the London Olympics and has witnessed the relocation of some of the city’s top institutions and universities just shows how East London has repurposed itself as the cultural centre of the capital.
East London is already emerging as the new capital for material innovation, biotech and sustainable luxury, and Get Living’s East Village serves as the gateway for creative industries and purposeful living.
The Lab E20 is ultimately a bridge between fashion and development, resulting in a co-creative space for students, creatives, innovators and the local community — I very much hope it will act as encouragement or as a blueprint for others to foster positive and non-traditional partnerships.
Christopher Raeburn is founder at fashion designer Raeburn
