Orley Ascendant
Orley Ascendant
The Brothers Orley—Alex, an alumnus of Rag & Bone, and Matthew, of Thom Browne—staked their label on color. “Our customers are Matthew and I,” Alex said. “I don’t wear any black.” So their debut collection of knits for Fall 2012 skewed bright: cherry red, chrome yellow, orange, and teal, to start, occasionally offset (but never neutralized) but plainer shades of camel and navy. It won them the attention of Chris Gibbs, the menswear genius behind L.A.’s Union, who also consults on men’s for the new New York concept store Fivestory, and both will carry the first collection, which is all made in Italy and knitted in cotton, cotton/cashmere, and cotton/silk yarns. (The Orleys, along with their third partner, Samantha Florence, formerly of sales at Helmut Lang, will be stationed at Union Los Angeles for Fashion’s Night Out as well.) With the success of their first range, the trio plunged into Spring, keeping the color story strong. Striped T-shirts in pastel tones are standouts of the new collection, as are all of those pieces inwhat looks like a sixties Palm Beach floral and turns out to be a takeoff of traditional Islamic architecture motifs (above). They all forsake the gruff, mountain-man strictness that’s been a vogue in American menswear for sometime for something a bit more freeform and fun—which may be why the line’s stylist, Sara Moonves, chose to show it on men and women both for their new lookbook, and Distractions in Aspen picked up several Fall pieces in girl-friendly small sizes. But as ambitious lines do, Orley is planning to get bigger as well as smaller. Knit ties in matching motifs will launch Orley’s e-commerce site for the holiday season. And, say the brothers, “we hope to do a ready to wear collection sooner than later.”
Orley’s debut collection arrives this month at Fivestory, New York, fivestoryny.com; Distractions, Aspen, distractionsaspen.com; and Union, L.A., unionlosangeles.com. Petra tees, $395 each, top, and Makra stitch bomber jacket, above, $855, arriving for Spring 2013 early next year; for more information, visit orley.us.
Photos: John Aquino
tags: Chris Gibbs, Distractions, Fivestory, Orley, Union
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