THE JOURNAL
Think Orlebar Brown and you’re immediately on a holiday; strolling along salt-kissed shores, soaking up serious beach club vibes, drifting off to the soothing sound of the Mediterranean waves, no meditation app necessary.
Since its inception 15 years ago, the British brand has effortlessly provided the mood music for the perfect holiday. The British label made a splash with its smart take on swimwear – smartly tailored shorts that take you from beach to cocktail bar, poolside lazing to dinner with a view.
A pair of Orlebar Brown swim shorts quickly became an essential part of the summer vacation pack for the stylish man. And though the brand has grown substantially since in terms of collection and thinking, in some ways it remains permanently on vacation; its swim shorts, sweats, shirts and all things to guarantee a gloriously stylish holiday. It is an essential part of the holiday mood.
It’s a feeling captured in Orlebar Brown’s birthday celebrations, which go off in some style with the launch of its Club Tropicana collection, a carefree salutation to casually stylish times, ridiculously bright cocktail in hand. “We wanted to take Orlebar Brown back to its roots,” says founder Mr Adam Brown of the brand’s thinking. “What it does best. The fabulous holiday.”
To get everyone in the mood and find ultimate holiday inspiration, Brown and his team applied some sunscreen, stuck one of the quintessential summer songs, “Club Tropicana” by Wham!, on the stereo and cranked the volume way up. “When I was a travelling as a teenager, ‘Club Tropicana’ always seemed to be playing,” Brown recalls. “It was the ultimate manifestation of sunshine, travel, happiness and good times.”
It’s in this spirit that the Club Tropicana collection, a collaboration with Wham!, was conceived, probably somewhere poolside, in the sun-kissed San Antonio hills. Taking inspiration from one of those perfect summer tracks, the brand has delivered an irresistibly seasonal wardrobe, as effervescent and light as a pop song.
Good times have always been part of the Orlebar Brown holiday package. Think of the brand, and your holiday mood board presents itself: yachts anchored in turquoise water, sun-kissed bodies by the beach club pool. The elevation of the humble swim short, which secured the brand’s prominence, took holiday style to the next level, giving the wearer access to the beach and the private members club without the bother of a quick change. At Orlebar Brown, the serious business of looking and feeling great on vacation has always been levelled with this sense of carefree style.
Club Tropicana is Orlebar Brown letting its hair down, fully embracing the sense of abandonment the best holidays deliver. The brand’s statement Bulldog swim shorts is served in a mimosa-inspired Club Tropicana print. An extremely relaxed vibe runs throughout the collection. Capri-collared shirts give a 1960s poolside style, towelling fabrics in vibey cocktail colours insist on you have a very good time. A towelling blue visor, meantime, merely asks you to go with the flow and embrace a Wham! endorsed, mid-1980s escapism.
And if you’re feeling particularly celebratory – and why not, you’re on holiday – pair a Howell shirt with candy-coloured trousers.
To ensure the party keeps going from poolside to hotel bar and beyond, the Club Tropicana collection reaches into the wee small hours for inspiration. A signature Giles shirt, with its lush blue and green print in night iris, says pre-dinner drinks overlooking the old town. And like all things Orlebar Brown, it’s a style that adapts to where the night takes you, a style that will continue to cut a carefree dash should the party continue until the sun comes up.
The possibilities, as the best summer songs suggest, are endless. Club Tropicana is the ultimate feel-good collection, and like the perfect summer song, designed to put you in the zone for the best holiday ever. So, turn the volume way up, and let Orlebar Brown put you in the mood for the best summer ever.