Nathan Bogle is a familiar face in and well-acquainted with the fashion industry. He boasts a decades long career – first as a model, then as a designer and co-founder of Rag & Bone. With his Double Eleven venture, the English native is utilizing his extensive knowledge to build a label that champions responsible design.

Prioritizing sustainability by creating garments using up-cycled vintage and deadstock fabrics, Bogle’s line combines fashion and function without any of the waste. His fashion philosophy and designs captured the attention of Mr. Porter, which features the label as part of its Small World showcase, a curated selection of global, independent, and diverse brands. His collection, ‘One of One,’ is a true testament to how the designer honors craftsmanship. By repurposing military tents and Air Force parachute, every square inch of ‘waste’ cuttings have been utilized into new textiles to create a one-of-a-kind collection. To celebrate the occasion, we caught up with the designer to hear more about his career and design process.

What inspired you to launch your brand?

I have been designing and making clothes for nearly 20 years, but I reached a point in 2014 where I said “there has to be a more efficient and less environmentally damaging way of going about the process.” I love making clothes, but given the current data about the environment and where we are as an industry in this area, I saw no other way of continuing unless I radically changed my approach…anything else would have been reckless. It meant reimagining the entire supply chain from top to bottom: textiles, trims, packaging, sourcing, you name it.

In addition, I was deeply inspired by the philosophy of the original Double Eleven and CC41 schemes/labels of the 1940s when rationing was in effect and raw materials were hard to come by. In a united effort between the British Government and its citizens, strict production mandates were enforced and adopted in order to control consumption (and waste). It didn’t equate to bleak compromise; in fact, it was a perfect example of living within our means during a time of great conflict, whilst still producing well made, high quality garments.

The logical place for me to start this process was to utilize some of the copious amounts of deadstock and vintage fabrics that sit in warehouses all across the U.S. (and the world). By doing so, it removed a significant portion of the environmental issue at hand because I wasn’t producing virgin textiles. We approximate around a 90 percent savings of energy, transport, chemicals and water simply by repurposing. This, combined with local manufacturing in LA or NY, began a new model that respected both people and planet without any compromise to the things we all love about great Made in USA clothing.

What made you decide to use military tents and air force parachutes?

The journey with Double Eleven has been an evolution. I began in LA and we were manufacturing denims and knits, which was a fantastic experience and good start. Towards the end of 2018, I had been trying to locate this mysterious warehouse I kept hearing about that housed tons of vintage military tents, parachutes, and garments. After a lot of research, I eventually found it and was amazed to see these 30-60 year old garments and textiles still in mint condition. It spoke to a different time and to all the things I love: military utility, enduring textile design and of course the rich history each article came with.

I bought a few tents and one giant parachute and, after a great deal of trial and error, figured out how to reengineer them into clothing while preserving as many of the original details, stitching, and characteristics of the cloth. The reaction from close friends was noticeably positive! So I embarked on making a concept collection that embraced the idea of utility, durability, and history. In addition, the materials are just incredible to work with. The whole process of transforming a tent or parachute into a jacket or pant is a wonderfully challenging creative process (one Parachute Jacket takes 18 hours to cut & sew!). Ultimately, using these materials not only embodied the idea of repurposing and upcycling, but in addition spotlighted ‘disposability’ in our culture, and that so called ‘waste’ is in fact opportunity.

What’s your take on sustainability and fashion and why is it especially important now?

I love the word ‘sustainability’ but I believe the only two sustainable things on our planet are remote indigenous tribes and nature herself. I feel the word ‘responsibility’ speaks more accurately to what we are all trying to accomplish as I don’t believe that anything on an industrial level is truly sustainable, given our history and where we are today. However, I do believe we are seeing a movement right now, not a moment, with hundreds of designers embracing the need to produce with a conscience.

The current model of industrial manufacturing is simply unsustainable, and the crazy thing is – we know it! Greenwashing is rampant in many areas, not just fashion, and there are deep wells of marketing dollars that are telling disingenuous stories to the public. However, there are incredible people pushing for change at a federal level (which is where it needs to happen to expedite this movement) in order to introduce policy on how we responsibly produce on an industrial level, as of right now it’s open for all sorts of abuse and manipulation.

The fashion industry has quietly carried on utilizing the same supply chain methods for decades. I was certainly guilty of it; buying and producing virgin textiles in the usual way, sampling, disposing, shipping, etc, the list is endless. Given the current data about our industry’s impact on the planet, I feel we now have a duty to incorporate responsible design and thinking into every decision we make; there isn’t much time for anything other. The fashion industry is the second largest polluter on the planet, and as David Attenborough recently stated, we as a species only have about 10 years to change things…or it will start to become very unpleasant here on Earth (he said that last year so now it’s 9). Two startling facts to sit with and definitely the most blatant calls to action I’ve encountered!

On the whole, we humans are in conflict with nature, we have been since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Now it’s time for systemic change that is led by example, setting new standards for what product represents and how we go about helping customers understand the true cost and end value. Change is happening a little slower than I would like, but it’s happening, and there is a growing community of both brands and customers who are championing this consciousness shift. It’s an exciting time. We just need to put all of of our feet on the gas, or rather lithium batteries!

You have worked in the fashion industry for quite some time now. How did your previous experience shape your business today? 

I had a moment in a factory in New York in 2014 where I was making leather jackets – when all I was practicing came crashing down. I looked around at the piles of waste, samples and cuttings, and just thought this is so irresponsible, particularly because it was leather, which is one of the worst materials to work with and I hadn’t eaten meat for 25 years! It was at that moment when everything I knew was brought into question, but in the same instance, it gave birth to a new way that considered the environment before anything else. I completely changed direction and reshaped what I was doing by applying a more radical approach.

My previous experience obviously taught me all the essentials about design, sourcing, production, sales etc. What Marcus and I were doing at rag & bone and my work that proceeded …I’m very proud of and was really interesting back then, but today this new philosophy is what’s compelling to me and the vision I have for the future. I am the first to admit that the way I was making clothes up until 2014 was improvident. There simply wasn’t the component in my process that asked the primary question about responsibility, in particular to textiles. And as I began to reexamine each step of the supply chain that I had become so habituated to taking, it became glaringly obvious that it was antiquated and needed a complete overhaul.

The traditional practices of design and manufacture remained in place, however much of the practices pertaining to sourcing, dyeing, laundry, shipping, sampling, packaging, waste etc. were, and still are, being rethought. By no means do I consider my current practice to be the complete solution; far from it, there is so much work to be done, but I do note that the way in which I am approaching design comes from an entirely different place and we are making a difference.

You’re part of Mr. Porter’s Small World Collection. What does that mean to you and how does Double Eleven align with the other brands?

Mr. Porter is the mecca of online menswear retail, so it’s very exciting to have Double Eleven sold there and to engage with their customers. Mr. Porter is stepping into the ethical and responsible space in a very well thought out fashion in collaboration with Create Sustain. They have really done their homework and are approaching this right. The Small World Collective is a great introduction into this world for the 1.5 million subscribers they have and showcases all sorts of talent from around the globe, who are connected by their thinking and design philosophies. To be a part of this collective of like minds and products feels very empowering, because this movement is a community effort and we all have the same goal in mind…to transform the system through beautiful, responsible product design. And to have a retailer as large and influential as Mr. Porter championing this movement is a real mark of where their thinking is today and for the future. This is only the beginning and it’s exciting to be going in on the ground floor with them.

Where do you see Double Eleven in five years? What’s your hope for the brand?

My hope for Double Eleven is that we can contribute to the transformation of our industry. That’s ultimately what gets me up each morning. I’m excited to begin developing ‘new’ textiles with some like-minded partners, where we are analyzing and testing innovative methods and blends of recycled cotton and non-cotton alternatives, to create a library of 21^st century cloths which we are able utilize on a broad range of styles. We will continue to work with vintage and deadstock, but it’s not entirely scalable and comes with its own set of difficulties.

Womenswear is another area I see in our future, and one I’d like to step into soon. I have a lot of female friends who are already wearing our menswear, and I believe women naturally adopt this ethos quicker than men (no disrespect to the gents); responsible clothing harmonizes with the existing clean food, beauty, maternity and health sectors, which women are already the leaders of. Expansion internationally, as well as free standing concept stores is also a goal, but things are changing so much and so fast, I want to set realistic benchmarks.

With the world where it is today, the imminent climate change dangers and human rights issues, my real hope is that through beautiful product, intelligent design and relatable ethics, we are able to contribute markedly to moving the needle towards a healthier future for our industry, people and planet.

Discover Double Eleven on Mr.Porter here. 

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