Pucci teams up with Orlebar Brown to launch exclusive collection

Iconic print brand Pucci has collaborated with quintessentially British beachwear label Orlebar Brown. The collection is available exclusively at Boutique 1 stores across the region.

Designers Adam Brown and Laudomia Pucci flanked by models wearing pieces from their collection. Courtesy Pucci

When the doyen of print and the master of tailored swimwear came together, a sleek and stylish capsule collection was born. Italian label Pucci’s 20-piece range with British brand Orlebar Brown is available exclusively at Boutique 1 stores across the region. Adam Brown, chief executive, Orlebar Brown, reflects on the two maison’s first fashion foray together.

How did the pairing with Pucci come about?

A good friend and customer approached me with a couple of metres of vintage Pucci fabric that he wanted me to make shorts from, and I did. Unbeknownst to me, he was on holiday the following summer and Laudomia Pucci saw the shorts. She loved them and sent me a very sweet email saying so. She also asked if we’d like to do something together, so it was a great way for the project to come about.

With your focus on swimwear and Pucci resort-focused, was the UAE a natural place to launch?

Yes, it’s an important market because the outdoors is celebrated. You have the right weather, plenty of pools and obviously the sea. Dubai is a glamorous, exciting place where we can make our presence felt, as perhaps there isn’t a huge amount of glamorous swim, poolside and resort collections being sold here.

Is this collection a one-off or the first of several future tie-ups with Pucci?

It’s not a one-off but we don’t do a huge amount of collaborations. In the past we’ve teamed up with artists, graphic designers, photographers and illustrators – not many brands. I think there has to be a good reason for doing these things and one genuinely interesting aspect was that Pucci is a predominately female label and we’re predominately male. Orlebar Brown also has a British sensibility and Pucci a very European “dolce ­vita-esque” one. So that aesthetic was interesting. We’re taking Pucci into a slightly more sporty world and they are taking us into a more glamorous one.