Almost 20 years after reinventing the swim short, the Orlebar Brown founder talks travel, personal style, and the everyday rituals that keep him inspired.
It started in India and spread around the globe. Well-turned-out men in the sun, by the pool, in resorts, on beaches. In printed shorts, knit polos, a splash of color here, a bold print there. Orlebar Brown began with an observation: on vacation in Rajasthan for a friend’s birthday, founder Adam Brown witnessed the women in chic swimwear and cover-ups moving easily and elegantly from pool to lunch, while the men, in their sodden, shapeless swim shorts… did not.
So Brown, at that point a photographer, created a quick-drying short that could be worn anywhere – less a swim short, more a short you could swim in – and in so doing, birthed a new category of male resort wear.
The brand’s tailored swimmers remain best in class, but now, two decades later, OB supplies the vacation wardrobe – everything from knit polos and blazers to easy trousers and accessories – of an international traveling cohort of men as they move from yacht to tender to beachside restaurant.
There have been many milestones – from on-screen endorsements (not least by Daniel Craig as Bond in Skyfall) to OB boutiques becoming a fixture in glamorous locations and the best hotels, to being acquired by Chanel. Post acquisition, Brown, 61, who lives in North Yorkshire, England, with his husband Tom, is less hands-on but still very much involved, and is, he says, thinking about the future. “It’s about ambition, opportunity, and longevity. I want to look back on Orlebar Brown’s success in another 20 years.”
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What matters to you in life?
That I get up in the morning with a spring in my step. I have too many friends who don’t enjoy their jobs, or aren’t happy in their family lives. I’m not particularly financially motivated, I just need to be content with myself. I’m very aware of what I enjoy doing and try to step away from what I don’t. And in style? Individuality, and the opportunity to express yourself. Clothes are things to enjoy; I love materiality, color, and fabric. When I moved to the country there was this whole palette, a whole way of dressing. It’s much more fun.
What was the first item of clothing you fell in love with?
When I was a teenager, I thought I was a punk. I used to buy checked shirts and cut the sleeves off. Then I got some suede winklepickers from Shelly’s on the Kings Road in London. I thought I was absolutely killing it.
What do you collect?
Golf balls. I was walking down the beach in Cornwall, 18, 20 years ago, thinking the company was going to go bust. And there was a golf ball lying in the water. I picked it up and thought, “If I find another one, I’ll keep going with the business. It’ll be a sign.” It was just one of those stupid things you say to yourself. And I found three more. Since then, I pick up golf balls from hedgerows or on walks and put them in a bowl in my office. I find them in the weirdest places. I’ve got about 35 now.
What’s always in your carry on?
Navy T-shirts and underwear. I once spilled my whole tray on my trousers during a flight, and had to sit there in wet pants. So now I always have spares in my carry-on. And there’s always a book, a pack of cards, or a backgammon set if I’m on vacation.
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What do you do every day?
If I’m in the country, I do the whole juicing thing and then yoga. I work for a few hours and then take the dog out onto the moors for a walk. In London, it’s eight hours in the same room in consecutive meetings. What do you wear most often? I don’t wear OB head to foot. My go-to is a navy crew-neck cashmere jumper, of which I have probably 25, from brands like Thomas Meyer, Trunk, Jil Sander, as well as OB. I look after them like valued friends.
Where’s your favorite place to travel?
Between April and October I’ll stay up north in Yorkshire. It’s so beautiful, it’s like being on vacation. But last winter I went to Uruguay and Cape Town. And every year I like having an adventure. You had Namibia on your cover recently [Elite Traveler Winter 2025] – I went a couple of years ago and loved it, the most amazing place. I had no idea the word desert could be interpreted in so many different ways.
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