Catching Up with Sarah Rafferty at Berlin Fashion Week

For Fall/Winter 2019, Marc Cain chose to stage their latest collection, the first under Managing Director of Design and Brand Katja Konradi, at an urban train station in Berlin. Contrasting colours, statement suits, signature coats, and modern streetwear showed off the brand’s versatility, with pops of animal print and sparkle rounding out the collection.

Tastemakers, creatives, and celebrities from around the world were in attendance, including the German brand’s ambassador Sarah Rafferty, who collaborated on a handbag titled “True Bag” which made its runway debut the same evening. After the show, we caught up with the actress to talk about her favourite looks from the collection, her time in Berlin, and her exciting collaboration with Marc Cain.

We heard it’s your first time visiting Berlin, what do you think of the city?

“It’s beautiful. The winter was not going to stop me. This morning I ran around and took in as many sites as I could.”

Where did you go?

“I went to the Holocaust Memorial, it was really moving. It’s very simple but very deep, the cold rain and the bare trees only played into that. Nothing can impede on the depth of the emotion that you feel there. I also went out to see the East Berlin Gallery Wall. It just seems like there is this amazing responsibility to keep the past present.”

You had a preview of the Fall/Winter 2019 collection before the runway show, how was it looking at everything in motion?

“Seeing it in motion is so beautiful and so good because I already had touched so many of them. I love the knits and coats. You have to feel the coats—they’re just beautiful. Also the boots, which I’m kind of obsessed with.”

How did your “True Bag” handbag collaboration with Marc Cain come about? What was the design process like?

“The design process was funny because I was working on Suits in Toronto and we were sending videos back and forth trying to explain how I wanted the cross body to be attached. I was mocking up something from taking two bags, taking a video of it and putting it together. For me, it was important that it be really functional which is why I wanted the cross body strap on it. It’s classic.”

How did you decide what to wear for the show? Why did these pieces resonate with you?

“I like the pleats and I love the mix—the suede boots, the pleating with the check pattern, which is very now, plus the simple black turtle neck and this camel, I love camel anything. Give me camel! I liked the play of all the textures. Plus I’m really comfortable, like super comfortable. I could sleep in this or go on a plane.”

View the gallery to see highlights from Marc Cain’s Fall/Winter 2019 show, including our top picks from the collection. Marc Cain x Sarah Rafferty “True Bag” will be available in Canada July 2019.