Orlebar Brown to Open Three Stores in Southern California Resort Areas
British resortwear and lifestyle brand Orlebar Brown has California dreamin’ on its mind.
Ever since it was acquired by Chanel five years ago for an undisclosed amount, the luxury label, known for its well-tailored swim shorts, has been scouting for new retail opportunities.
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Later this year, two new boutiques will open in Southern California with a third debuting next year in the Brentwood neighborhood. And if you are going to establish retail outposts in California, you might as well explore nearby Las Vegas, where another venue will open this year at a soon-to-be-named hotel.
“California feels like one of the perfect places for Orlebar Brown,” said Trevor Hardy, the brand’s chief marketing officer, who was in Los Angeles recently showing the label’s high summer 2023 collection. “The United States is our biggest market, about 60 percent of sales, and at least one third of our U.S. customers are in California. We have a large customer base here.”
Orlebar Brown likes to have stores in areas where the mood, weather and lifestyle fits in with the casual elegance of its collections. “California is intrinsically similar to the feeling of Orlebar Brown,” Hardy explained. “We’re all about traveling holidays and good times. That is California and a few other places in the world.”
Orlebar Brown’s new California outposts will be in the affluent communities of Newport Beach and Montecito. These stores will complement Orlebar Brown’s established location in Beverly Hills, opened more than two years ago.
Currently, Orlebar Brown has 47 stores throughout the world in places like Paris; the south of France; the islands of Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca in Spain; Mykonos, Greece; three locations in Dubai; five stores in Australia and six stores in London. In the United States, there are three stores in New York and five in Florida.
Continuing with the California theme, Orlebar Brown is incorporating an Old Hollywood feel into the latest iteration of its Bulldog swim short. The Bulldog, the first item launched by Orlebar Brown, is known for its tailored styling with side adjusters, a rounded waist band, darts in the back and 60 elements that go into it. “It is designed to be made in the exact same way that a pair of bespoke Savile Row trousers are made,” Hardy explained.
The swim short is meant to look good in the pool but dry in 10 minutes, when it turns into a stylish short that could make it into a poolside restaurant without causing a commotion.
This recently introduced Bulldog look has an iconic photo of The Beverly Hills Hotel imprinted in the nylon fabric made with recycled plastic bottles. The OB Beverly Hills Hotel swim short, with a $395 price tag, will be sold at Orlebar stores as well as at a shop inside The Beverly Hills Hotel.
Photographer Adam Brown launched Orlebar Brown in London in 2007 because he thought men’s swim trunks were too baggy and needed some tailoring. He made waves by implementing bold colors and graphic patterns, attracting a celebrity clientele including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jay-Z and Daniel Craig, who wore Orlebar Brown trunks as James Bond in 2017’s “Skyfall.” The label later became a resort and casual lifestyle brand with a bigger selection that includes cashmere polos, crochet tops, striped hoodies and cotton and linen pants.
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