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”.

BACK FROM THE ISLANDS

Back from the islands – still high from Jimmy Cliff and Joss Stone and yes, trying my best to get back on track at work.

(Trunks I brought with me from Faconnable and H&M)

Three more weeks before Semana Santa and I still haven’t planned anything (Baler maybe?). I’m trying to imagine myself getting on a plane for a week in Bali or the Italian Riviera, a cup of gelato and a plate of babi guling. Still imagining myself in a casita somewhere in the pacific, in my espadrilles,  linen shorts and cotton shirt. But again, it’s fun to daydream when you have the chance.

Sharing a couple of photos I took via Instagram.

WHEN 36 DEGREES ISN'T ENOUGH

Last weekend, my sister and I finally headed down south for that much needed weekend just worshiping the sun and getting ourselves toasted in 36 degrees heat.  

(Relaxing day at the beach with these stylish and preppy swim trunks from Tommy Hilfiger)

No, we did not pack up our L.L. Bean tote but guess what, there is always our trusty J. Crew Kelly green tote and tracks from Vampire Weekend and Two Door Cinema Club to keep us bouncy whole weekend.

 

(Here's what I packed with me:  J. Crew Kelly green tote, espadrilles and my trusty straw hat from Florence)

(And yes,  here's what I wore to the beach: Purple trunks from Speedo, Espadrilles, white linen shirt, preppy nato straps and leather bracelet from Guam - a gift from my officemate)

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.

LOVE, TRUNKS AND GETTING THAT EXTRA TAN

My closet is filled with almost all things preppy – yes, even my beach shorts. Mom would even wonder why most of them are in pink, purple, lime and of course, red. I mean, hey, don’t blame me if I look pretty good in them! Though I only go to Ralph Lauren, Speedo and Vilebrequin, I have discovered Love Brand & Co. to be not at all bad! Set up only last year by Oliver Tomalin, a young English designer, this new socially responsible lifestyle brand promises to expand through a series of ready-to-wear products, each intrinsically dedicated to a relevant charity. The first, ‘Trunks for Trunks’ (swimming trunks for endangered Asian elephants) was inspired and motivated by the plight of the iconic animal. He saw a great opportunity to help the Elephant Family in a credible and savvy way, by creating his superbly designed collection of state of the art men's swim. Impressive! And the best thing about this SS12 collection - it has a classic European cut like all my weekend shorts and loosely tailored for a stylish and comfortable fit. I should be wearing one this weekend at Tali but damnit, I might as well just keep my mouth shut. I need a tan!

THE KING AND HIS (vilebre) QUINS

Time to trade your business suit, gray trousers and dress shirts for swim shorts and luxe beachwear that’ll make your trip to the beach better than expected. Trust me! There are more cool swim shorts out there for your hot-weather pleasure than your favorite, awfully cut, tacky floral board shorts.

I love my Vilebrequins! They fit like gym shorts, but totally lined for swimming.