Elite Traveler Winter 2020

elite traveler WINTER 2020/21 49

has helped inform the success of Orlebar Brown, of how we look visually, and how we present ourselves and talk to the customers through our brand.” Admittedly, Covid-19 has come into play for Orlebar Brown just like it has impacted other businesses around the world. “People aren’t traveling or going on holidays so it has been very challenging,” says Brown. “But this is when you have to do some self-reflection and think about if we are on the right track and forming ideas about how we can move things around. It is a window of time we didn’t have before.” So, what advice does Brown have for the aspiring designer or clothing entrepreneur? “Stay focused. Don’t try to do too much too quickly. Be a hero at one thing for a long time before branching out. Also, don’t talk to people about the product. Talk to them about the experience and the emotional ties that sit around that product. That is what will make their hearts jump."

personality, so this is how we always design. Tailored is about adding a smartness to all of our items at all times. The original tailored shorts have 60 elements in one pair of swim shorts,” says Brown, noting that the brand’s tailoring has to be classic and timeless. The brave portion of the creed is about challenging people to not be complacent. “Don’t think that what we are doing now is right. Keep being brave, questioning things, taking considered risks and finding different ways to do things,” says Brown. In his quest to find different ways to do things, Brown says that collaborations offer Orlebar Brown great freedom of expression and a way to inch into other worlds. “When you are a small brand, you look for interesting ways to interpret your product, to put a slightly different angle on something or tell a different story. Collaborations let the customer see you in a slightly different light.” These collaborations result in some incredible capsule collections, such as the recently introduced James Bond 007 Heritage Collection that takes inspiration from the 007 movies and character. The pieces focus on fabrics that the world’s favorite spy wore in the iconic movies. For the marketing of the 007 Heritage Collection, Orlebar Brown teamed with British photographer Greg Williams to capture the essence of intrigue and effortless style. Another big collaboration this past summer was with Swiss watch brand IWC Schaffhausen; it marked the first time Orlebar Brown has partnered with a watch “Don’t think that what we are doing now is right. Keep being brave, questioning things, taking considered risks and finding different ways to do things”

company. “It is about how Orlebar Brown looks in an IWC world, and vice versa,” says Brown. “It gives an interesting twist and introduces both brands to new worlds. Besides, it makes sense to us. A man who goes on holiday is all about enjoying time.” For that affiliation, Orlebar Brown created a capsule collection of nine co-branded pieces of resort wear based on IWC’s famed Portugieser watch in general and using colorways from a specially created IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph Edition Orlebar Brown watch. That stainless steel chronograph features a marine blue dial and a co-branded buckle made in the likeness of Orlebar Brown’s signature side-fastener. The marketing campaign was shot on a Solaris 55 sailing yacht in Sardinia (since IWC also just started a collaboration with the Italian luxury yacht company) — setting a wonderfully relaxing resort scene. “I learned a lot from being in photography, and I don’t regret the time I spent doing it,” says Brown. “It

Right IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph Edition ‘Orlebar Brown’ watch

Above and below Orlebar Brown’s IWC Capsule collection includes a white toweling blazer with blue piping, a cotton/silk knitted polo, swim shorts with side fasteners, and more

“A man who goes on holiday is all about enjoying time.”