BEN ROBSON – SAVING ELEPHANTS FOR FASHION

Love Brand & Co., the prestigious beachwear company, recently announced Ben Robson’s continued commitment as the face of Love Brand & Co. for this year’s Spring Summer 14 Campaign. 

British Actor, Ben Robson in Saville Row's Dege & Skinner

Following his vision, “Fashion for the love of elephants”, a movement popularly known as ‘Trunks for Trunks’, Oliver Tomalin, the eco-conscious entrepreneur and director of Love Brand & Co., directed this year’s photo shoot and campaign held at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, the world’s most successful orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation center in Nairobi, Kenya.

Last year up to 36,000 elephants were killed for their ivory. 1 life lost every 15 minutes. At the current rate of poaching African Elephants could face extinction in the wild by 2025.

“I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to engage with these magnificent creatures in such close proximity in their own surroundings. It is something I will never forget and made it even harder to understand how people could possibly bring any harm to any of them”,said Robson. “Since this experience, it has really brought to life the great work that both the DSWT and Love Brand & Co. are striving for in Elephant conservation, and I am glad to be a part of it”, he added.

For Tomalin,“To see the orphans again was amazing. I remembered some of them well from my last visit, so it was great to see them looking well and to also learn that others I met before have now moved out of the orphanage onto the next stage of their careful reintroduction to the wild. It's very motivating. I am so pleased to support this remarkable charity and it is very special to witness first-hand the elephant lives being saved”.

The striking images of Love Brand & Co.’s new campaign transmit the complete concept of the British label in single images. Showing the collection of state-of-the-art swimwear with the animal the products and brand endeavours to save, all conveyed by emerging British acting talent, heartthrob and elephant lover, Ben Robson.

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is one of the three Charity Partners Love Brand & Co. is supporting through its lifestyle in aid of endangered wildlife concept.

BUY, SUPPORT!

Love Brand & Co. donates 5 % of its sales to elephant charities Elephant Family, The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and Tusk Trust, raising key awareness and funds for vital elephant conservation projects. Love Brand & Co. has over 150 stockists across 45 countries and opened its Flagship Boutique in London last year.

SHOPPING LIST: MORE THAN WHAT SANTA CAN GIVE

26 more days! Yes, 26!  All the good intentions in the world mean nothing when Christmas ticks around and you realize you don’t have a gift for your best friend and parents who has everything, or your picky sister who thinks having 10 cable knit pullovers from J. Crew isn’t enough. Control those cold sweats and don’t panic – many shops now trade for longer hours at Christmas time (hello, you have 4 more additional hours until midnight!) and online sites like eBay, Net-A-Porter, Porter and One Kings Lane promise swift delivery for online purchases. But if you’ve left it too late and can’t wait for additional 3 days until delivery or 10 days (my case since I’m in the Philippines), then head to the nearest mall and start shopping.

I have compiled nine gifts you can buy, that won’t so much look as if they were an afterthought.

A gift with a conscience, the Clever Canvas Tote from Love Brand & Co. is perfect for those who want to give in more ways than one during the festive period.

Candles from W17 in fig, pear, cognac.

A finely crafted piece of furniture from E. Murio. Trust me, it’s perfect for a friend who’s nesting and looking for an accent piece for his/her home.

Ground rules - hand knotted, hand tufted rugs by Inigo Elizalde for Tai Ping

Get him fitted! Bespoke basics from Ascot Chang. Enough said.

One for the little one at little bean sprout. 

Holiday diffusers from Daphne - a divine scent is always appreciated.

And yes, basic matter – you can’t go wrong with classic nylite canvas in white from Tretorn

ELEPHANT FOUND: CHELSEA BEACH

LoveBrand & Co., the prestigious beachwear company founded by Oliver Tomalin, has finally opened its first boutique on Chelsea’s “beach” just by Fulham Road at 5 Park Walk, in London.

The 1,000 sq ft Flagship Boutique intends to encapsulate both the relaxed sense of being on the beach and the exacting nature of a luxury flagship. The store showcases the brand’s responsible ethos and 'modern classic' style through a blend of unusual upcycled furniture and traditional brass fittings. 

The display units are made from old scaffold boards with a brass rail holding the colorful products on elegant engraved hangers. Products are also stored inside the impressive scaffold units in old apple crate 'drawers'.

For the check out counter, an old post office with provenance dating back over 150 years, has been upcycled to its former glory, preserving the original brass grates that now surround touch screens instead of stamps. Behind which a round glass table with a base beautifully crafted from upcycled driftwood carries a rainbow of swim shorts in a circle. 

On entry is the press wall with lines of clipboards holding recent press features. Below is a table upcycled from floorboards and old ironmongery on which refreshing iced teas and 'health waters' are available for thirsty shoppers. 

Behind the traditional large sash windows are the two windows displays using upcycled driftwood poles from which old boat rope is bound holding Love Brand & Co. products with pegs. “This flagship store represents the Love Brand & Co.’s values. I wanted to create a space that would offer a unique shopping experience, with an exquisite customer service and high quality products”, explains Tomalin.

Love Brand & Co. donates 5 % of its sales to elephant charities Elephant Family, The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and Tusk Trust, raising key awareness and funds for vital elephant conservation projects.

36 DEGREES UNDER THE SUN - WHO NEEDS A TAN?

Bright hot summer and 36 degrees under the sun, who needs a tan? Don’t lose the faith and pair your pique salmon or white shirt with trunks from Love Brand & Co.’s Spring / Summer 13 line.

Flying to Busuanga, Bali or Boracay?  I dare you to show off your legs with the perfect length and the best cheerful prints or keep it straightforward with basic stripes – 

(stripes, Solid or printed - you choose! There's always one for everyone!)

you don't really want to be eaten by the turquoise sea and die a humiliating death. 

NEW FACE FOR SPRING

Love Brand & Co., the prestigious beachwear company, is pleased to announce Ben

Robson as the new face of the Spring Summer 13 Campaign.

Ben Robson, who is part of the next generation of British acting talents, will star in

“The Dark Prince”, the vampire movie directed by Pearry R Teo.

“I had a great time it was a really amusing shoot and I loved the locations in Abu Dhabi. It has been a pleasure to work with Love Brand & Co. and to become its new face”, said Ben Robson.

Directed by the Creative Director of Love Brand & Co., Oliver Tomalin, the new campaign’s photo shoot took place in Abu Dhabi at the iconic Yas Viceroy Hotel Sky pool, above the Yas Marina Circuit F1 race track.

Tomalin selected this main location for its dynamic, flowing and curved shell as a

modern and fresh backdrop for his new collection of timeless designs, referred to by

the designer as “The Modern Classic”.

DIPPING IT WITH THE CORNWALLS

What better way to spend the weekend across the pond than a Sunday morning swim in the Serpentine at Sunny Hyde.

No one stopped everyone from taking a dip and yes,  all 32 men battled out a freestyle swimming relay, racing  to  raise  vital awareness for endangered Asian elephants in the wild.

Supporters took advantage of the rare London glare and came to watch from vintage deck-chairs at the Lido and the grassy banks of the Serpentine.

Selected from the current collection of classic Love Brand & Co. trunks, the green trunks popped like sunshine as everyone reached the finish line.

Blame it on Mark Shand, brother of the Duchess of Cornwall and founder of Elephant Family and London designer Oliver Tomalin.

The fashion/charity project “Trunks for Trunks” is a playful collaboration between the British state-of-the-art swimwear and Britain's leading Asian elephant charity, Elephant Family, Swimming trunks in support of endangered Asian elephants.

Quintessentially English,  the morning was made complete by everyone warming up with a cup of tea  after the race.  Lovely!

ON KEEPING IT SHORT

I got the chance to interview one of the best dressed men in the industry not because he wears his own collection, but he manages to dress in a way that is comfortably interesting and effortlessly chic.

Have you ever pulled on a pair of beach shorts that made you look twenty pounds heavier - the kind that balloons out from the back as if you're wearing bloomers from the 30s?


(Oliver Tomalin, founder of Love Brand & Co. Photo by The Fashion Ache)


Oliver Tomalin, founder of Love Brand & Co., shares why looking good at the beach with the right pair of shorts is the only key to standing out in a sea of tacky board shorts.


(Oliver Tomalin, founder of Love Brand & Co.)

Tell me about your personal style.

Classic, colourful and cool. (I wish, that’s what I hope people would say about
my style, sadly they would probably say, ‘quite normal really’.

Someone well dressed as you, what would we find a lot in your closet?

Summer stuff. Lots of Love Brand’s (Trunks), linen shirts and espadrilles.

Sounds like a perfect summer uniform! Among linen shirts, espadrilles and shorts, what is the one item of clothing in your wardrobe that best represents you?

Difficult question…lets go with the espadrilles. Originally from France, like me,
much better in the sun than in the rain, very like me and my mood, and smelly
after a while, hopefully not so like me and they are timeless, not to say I am
timeless but I think my wardrobe is. I like to limit my wardrobe to essentials
that I love and that I know I will still love in 10, 20, 30 years time…and have
them in as many colours as possible.

What things would there be in your bag?

I don’t generally carry a bag with me but if I did, it would have a camera and
an ipod in it, I love music and taking photos. And an idock, I want one of
those.

Growing up in France, what do you love most it?

I didn’t grow up in France. My families origins and my name is from France. I
was born in Hong Kong and when I was young I lived in New Zealand and
Japan and the Middle East. I loved the opportunity to travel and see a bit of
the world. I love to travel, I think one of my favorite places in the world to be is
in an airplane seat, everything I love is happening or going to happen soon.
Movies, Food, Wine, Shopping and then a sunny place, hopefully.


(Oliver in Thailand)

What inspired you to launch Love Brand & Co.?

Lots of companies retro-fit social responsibility, it was important to me to start
a company that places socially responsibility at its core. So instead of selling
lots of product, scratching heads and picking a charity to give a donation to, I
start with the charity and the product, together, before I have even made a
prototype. This is what I call bisociation or concept blending. The product
becomes a vehicle for raising active awareness for the charity as well as
donations and in turn the charitable cause too enriches our products. For
example with my first concept “Trunks for Trunks” - swimming trunks for
endangered Asian elephants, I designed our men’s trunks with elephant tusk
shaped aglets for the drawstring ends, this is a special detail that symbolizes
the cause the product is in aid of.

When I was deciding on the Love Brand Bisociation of the men’s classic
swimwear collection, I chose elephants not because I was an elephant
enthusiast as such at the time, it was because I read an article about the
Elephant Parade in London, the charity Elephant Family really inspired me
and it just clicked – ‘Trunks for Trunks’ It’s fun, it makes sense, it’s
memorable. Also I wanted to use the elephant as the identity of Love Brand &
Co. as a label, so it made sense to start by supporting the animal we use in
motif form. In terms of company ethic also, we like to share a similar nature to
elephants, never forgetting, iconic and (hopefully) big but friendly! It is only
since starting all this, I have truly fallen in love with elephants and could
perhaps consider myself an enthusiast.

Your brand was a huge success in the UK, India, Spain, Maldives,
Mauritius and Bahamas. Any plans expanding in Asia?

We have launched this year with relatively niche distribution channels,
starting in a few of the worlds best resort hotels and boutiques. Next year
we want to bring Love Brand & Co. to the high street more selling at the
worlds top department stores, including in Asia. The big dream is also to
one day open a series of stand alone concept boutiques, again this would
be amazing to do somewhere in Asia.

What was your inspiration for this season’s collection?

This season’s Trunks for Trunks collection is classic in style with some
nautical stripes and pastel blocks, the prints are also classic or simply good
fun, like the Lady birds or Cherries. But even these brighter and bolder prints
derive from vintage French originals. All our prints are limited editions also
and can be checked out at lovebrand.com

Who would you want to see wearing Love Brand and Co.?

To be honest, every time I see someone wearing Love Brand’s it gives me the
same absolutely amazing feeling.

ST. TROPEZ AND THAT PERFECT BAñADORES

I am nowhere near St. Tropez but definitely just 15 minutes away by boat from the only pristine pink sand island in the country.


(where else?)

The sun is definitely out and yes, I am ready in my beach shorts.


(Oliver Tomalin, Creative Director Love Brand & Co.. Love Brand & Co.’s debut collection is a state-of-the-art swimwear, gathering 15 styles within 2 navy stripes, 5 limited editions and 8 block colors - one of them named French Blue evocative of Oliver’s experiences in the South of France. )


Love Brand & Co., the luxury British swimwear label for men and boys recently introduced its debut collection in an intimate and private party at St. Tropez the last weekend.

Where on Earth was I?

Set up just last year, the brand was an international success in the UK, India, Spain, Maldives, Mauritius and Bahamas. Impressive!


(Love Brand & Co.’s design is extremely thoughtful with notable details as the silver alloy drawstring aglets in the shape of elephant tusks, stamped eyelets, soft and quick drying fabric, beautifully constructed, with a logo using two elephants which come together to form a heart. )

I can finally get a tan! I just love my life here in the island!

Sombrero and sunscreen not included.