Adam Brown never set out to build a luxury fashion brand. But in trying to solve a simple sartorial problem – what stylish men should wear poolside – he ended up redefining the category altogether. What he crafted, unintentionally at first, was not simply a swimwear label, but a refined philosophy of leisure: a blueprint for living well, in sunshine.
The story of Orlebar Brown is by now part of modern menswear folklore: a tailored swim short inspired by Savile Row, beloved by James Bond, and expanded into a full-blown lifestyle label worn from the Amalfi Coast to Atlantis The Royal. But don’t let the glamorous narrative fool you. For Brown, the journey is still very much underway – and ambition, not nostalgia, continues to steer the ship.
“We haven’t made it yet. We are not there yet,” he says, without flinching. “We have still got a lot to prove, a lot we need to accomplish.”
And he means it. Despite dressing Daniel Craig in Skyfall, appearing on HBO’s The White Lotus, and landing a Chanel acquisition that many dream of, Brown remains intensely focused on what’s next – not what’s been done. Each milestone, no matter how glittering, is merely a checkpoint.
A brand born out of frustration and freedom
It began not with a business plan, but with a feeling. “I have always loved holidays, I have always loved products – I shop too much,” Brown admits. “I was 40 years old… I had not found the career, the job, the lifestyle that I wanted.” So he designed the swim shorts he wished he could find – tailored, elegant, wearable far beyond the beach.
“There was men’s swimwear – which did sport, surf, and then the Riviera shorts. But there seemed to be a corner missing, which was the tailored swimsuit. Nobody was doing that… so that gives it a bit more of a chance to succeed.”
The idea was deceptively simple: what if you brought the refinement of tailored trousers to the beach? What if men didn’t have to compromise style just because they were on holiday? What started with “one style of swim short in four lengths” quickly snowballed into something more expansive.
The logical next step? “A t-shirt, a polo shirt – the products you wear with a pair of shorts,” Brown says. Then came knitwear, outerwear, shoes, sunglasses – even leather slides and bags. Within a few years, Orlebar Brown had transformed into a complete wardrobe for the warm-weather man.
“There was no master plan to become a luxury brand. The luxury part came from the attention to detail, from the focus on quality and customer experience.”
And that focus paid off. Today, the brand is stocked across luxury retailers globally, boasts its own boutiques, and has established itself as a leader in a niche it invented.
Swim shorts, and a lifestyle built around them
Orlebar Brown’s signature tailored swim short still anchors the brand – but it’s the idea behind it that’s proved most enduring: that men want resort wear that feels as refined as their formalwear. Their global campaigns, carefully constructed visuals, and print-heavy collections evoke not just fashion, but aspiration: jetting off, dressing well, living freely.
This isn’t just swimwear – it’s a lifestyle proposition. You’re not just buying shorts; you’re buying into a slower, more intentional rhythm of life. The ethos is visible in every detail, from the cut of the garments to the travel-inspired lookbooks that evoke everything from the Côte d’Azur to Sri Lanka’s south coast.
The brand’s evolution has also been marked by strategic collaborations – most notably with James Bond and Automobili Lamborghini – that have expanded both its audience and creative vocabulary. These capsule collections feel less like marketing gimmicks and more like design experiments that push the brand’s aesthetic into new territory.
“It’s not about gimmickry. It’s about staying fresh and relevant without losing our core DNA.”
A Chanel-backed future, with freedom intact
In 2018, French fashion giant Chanel acquired Orlebar Brown in full – a move that surprised many in the industry and delighted Brown.
“That was a dream come true… They do not get involved; they allow us to do things exactly how we want, and the trust is very flattering,” he says.
“They’ve always been a source of guidance… store leases, warehousing, sustainability – there is a whole raft of expertise.”
It’s a rare setup in fashion: creative autonomy with the financial and operational muscle of one of the world’s most prestigious maisons. And it’s allowed Brown and his team to grow the brand in a way that feels organic.
Behind the scenes, Chanel’s infrastructure has helped professionalise many of the processes that Brown and his lean team had been managing themselves – from logistics to retail leases to digital infrastructure.
“What they’ve given us is scale. And the confidence to take bigger creative risks.”
Sun, style and scale
Nowhere is Orlebar Brown’s ethos of sunshine, travel, happiness and good times more at home than the Middle East. Dubai, in particular, holds a special place in Brown’s heart.
“Dubai was one of those places where I tested one of the early samples,” he shares. “I have seen Dubai evolve over the last 25 years.”
The brand now operates stores in The Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Jumeirah, Atlantis, and Abu Dhabi, with a new location opening at The Grove in the capital. Last year saw eight new store openings globally, and this year, ten more are in the works.
It’s an ambitious pace – but one Brown embraces with the same curiosity he brought to his very first prototype. In the Middle East, especially, the climate, culture, and appetite for luxury make it an ideal fit.
“The region just gets what we’re about. Sun, travel, optimism. It’s a natural fit.”
A hands-on approach and a long runway ahead
Brown still describes himself as a “hands-on” leader. He isn’t removed from the grit of daily operations. He’s tinkering with websites. He’s wrestling with logistics. He’s debating store design. And most importantly, he’s thinking.
About product. About purpose. About how to maintain the quiet confidence that’s become Orlebar Brown’s signature in an industry that often shouts. The founder still travels extensively, visits stores personally, and remains deeply involved in product development.
“We have just started these new categories. Our first bags have come out, new leather slides, and a range of sunglasses,” he says. “There’s so much we have not done, so there is so much we can do. And that is exciting.”
Looking ahead, Brown envisions more immersive brand experiences, greater integration between digital and retail, and a continued focus on sustainability – without ever losing sight of the tailored swim short that started it all.
“When you think about the future, thank goodness we are not a brand that has just reached its limit,” he reflects. “We have barely started.”
For a label that’s already rewritten the playbook for luxury resort wear, it’s a striking thing to hear. But then again, Orlebar Brown has always been about the long game: not just how to look good on holiday, but how to build a life – and a brand – that never stops evolving.