Adam Brown, openly confesses that his clothing company Orlebar Brown came about completely by accident. The one-time photographer was famously on holiday in India when he took note that the men’s swimwear around the pool didn’t look half as good as the women.
Feeling as though he was possibly on to something, he would spend the next few years developing high-quality swimwear for men that were more ‘shorts you can swim in’ than swimming shorts. Since then the brand has grown exponentially, and now, it offers a full collection of everyday staples for the modern man.
Esquire caught up Adam Brown ahead of his exclusive capsule collection in collaboration with online retailer Mr Porter.
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Is there a specific design philosophy you follow as a brand?
Fit is central to everything we do. The tailored approach we use from our swim shorts follows onto other categories.
Most brands have a particular facet to their clothes that are unique to that brand – what is yours?
All of our shorts have a side fastener. Also, in our T-shirts and polo shirts you’ll find a curved hem that was inspired by the tailored shirt.
What were the influences when designing for the Mr Porter capsule collection?
The spirit of Orlebar Brown is ‘holiday clothes you want to wear everyday’ and we’ve been the vital swimwear element of the Mr Porter essentials pages for quite some time. As we look to expand into other categories, we want to have that same level impact and importance.
What is something the two brands share?
The success of Mr Porter has given it a global reach, but also we appreciate the tone and sense of fun on the site. I think there are definitely parallels between the two brands.
Orlebar Brown is most famous for its swimwear. What challenges did you face when it came to designing full menswear collection?
We really had to pare it back and carefully consider each design rather than get carried away. We have such a strong signature in the swimwear, so it was important for us to evolve that effectively in to a wider ready-to-wear line including shirts, t-shirts, polos, sweats, outerwear. We didn’t see it as a challenge though to be honest, we saw it as a great opportunity to develop the Orlebar Brown offering.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I bodysurf very well!
Why partner with Mr Porter?
Mr Porter has been hugely supportive of us as a swimwear brand and this project gave us the chance to take things in a new direction. Working with a retailer that’s champions everyday essentials, really forced us to carefully consider what our wardrobes really need and form the collection around that.
What does the future hold for Orlebar Brown?
Lots of different opportunities, we’re still in the infancy of our product categories. Trousers, jackets are very new to us. We’re a very UK and European focused brand, so new territories offer up new opportunities, in particular the US market and the Middle East.
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