Gieves & Hawkes teams up with Orlebar Brown

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Mar 3, 2016

British men's heritage tailor brand Gieves & Hawkes, which has been around for over 200 years, has teamed up with luxury swimwear and resort brand Orlebar Brown for a new capsule collection.

The collection was inspired by David Livingstone, the Scottish explorer, and Orlebar has reimagined his hand-drawn maps, using them as prints on a line of utilitarian clothing. The palette is navy, congo grey and limestone, and Gieves & Hawkes says the collection celebrates travel and exploration.

Livingstone is not just known for his pioneering expeditions, but also for having been anti-slavery and pro social reform, making him a worthy inspiration for modern travellers.

And the explorer has a strong connection with Gieves & Hawkes: "In many ways Livingstone’s fate has always been intertwined with Gieves & Hawkes," the brand said. "When the public feared the explorer was dead, Henry Morton Stanley was sent to find him by the New York Herald in 1871. Dressed in Hawkes & Co, Stanley found Livingstone alive and well, decked out in Gieves. Upon Livingstone’s death his body was returned to London to lay in repose at No.1 Savile Row – then the headquarters of the Royal Geographical Society – and since 1912 the home of Gieves & Hawkes."

The new collaboration has been made to combine practical functionality with the precision and masculinity of Savile Row. It includes a safari jacket and cargo trousers, as well as swim shorts and T-shirts, and is available now.