Orlebar Brown, pioneers of poolside style for men, and Swiss watchmaker IWC have come together in a partnership that sees the launch of a nine-piece Capsule Collection of resort wear and a new Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph.
Established in 2007, the British resort wear and lifestyle brand Orlebar Brown was founded by photographer Adam Brown after he noticed an opportunity in the market for smart men’s swimwear.
Credited with bringing sophistication to resort wear, these swim shorts are based on the 17-piece pattern of a pair of traditional men's suit trousers. So each pair of shorts has a four-part shaped waistband, zip fly closure, and side fasteners. The brand’s popularity soared after Daniel Craig was spotted wearing them in his 2012 James Bond outing Skyfall. The company was bought over by Chanel in 2018 but Brown continues as its creative director.
The capsule collection with IWC is inspired by yachting holidays and includes a white towelling blazer (a formally-cut terry cloth jacket that’s perfect after a dip in the water) with blue piping and a cotton/silk knitted polo.
As a hat-tip to its Swiss partner, a swim short has a photograph print of a Solaris 55 sailing yacht in front of Porto Rotondo in Sardinia, a celebration of IWC’s partnership with the Italian luxury yacht brand Solaris.
IWC’s contribution to the partnership is a new nautical timepiece (Ref. IW390704) based on the Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph.
The “Orlebar Edition” edition uses a stainless steel 43.5 mm case and a marine-blue dial with white and red accents, a nod to Orlebar Brown’s favourite colour palette. The chronograph hours and minutes are displayed together on a subdial at 12 o’clock.
The blue rubber strap’s co-branded buckle is inspired by the side-fastener buckle of swim shorts and the watch is powered by the in-house Calibre 89361.
The “Orlebar Brown x IWC Capsule Collection” by Orlebar Brown and IWC is available from July 15 on the swimwear brand’s website.
