Much like the storied Italian knitwear houses that it aims to emulate, New York-based luxury label Orley is a family affair. It s run by two brothers, Alex and Matthew, and Matthew s wife, Samantha. They launched menswear for Spring 2014, designing finely knit polos, elastic-waist track pants, and above-the-knee shorts in incredibly particular hues like dusty terra-cotta, Dijon yellow, and sage green. From the start, there was a clear intention here: Take "old guy" clothes and make them look young. But not too young that the old guys still won t want to buy them. "We have never tried to define our men s customer by an age. For us it has always been more about defining the mind-set," Alex said. "I think our customer in both men s and women s share an ageless youthfulness."
Resort 2016 marked Orley s second foray into womenswear. While the men s collection included woven fabrics, women s was knitwear only. "We wanted to tell a full story, but to tell it in as focused a way as possible," Samantha said, although they didn t forgo structure for softness. For instance, a crochet bomber and matching pencil skirt were made from Japanese silk tape yarn, which has as much shape as any sturdy woven. A pointed collar vest was knit on a fine-gauge machine, but plied up and double-faced so that it felt like a proper piece of outerwear. To capitalize on the popularity of cable-knit without offering too much sameness, the team developed a bubbly "scallop" pattern that was fashioned into a kicky skirt and shell. The look was a bit prim and a bit sporty, and just quirky enough to appeal to a range of shopping archetypes.
There are crossovers from the menswear line—the fine-gauge polos are there, as are the graphic jacquards—but it was important to the Orleys that the women s looks not mirror the men s. "This isn t just our men s clothes for women," Matthew said. "It s about capturing a feminine mind-set." And that they did. Orley s advantage over other emerging brands is that its point of view has been clear from the get-go. But it s still going to take some time to find a customer willing to invest in a name they don t know. (And it is indeed an investment. The crochet bomber, for instance, will retail for $2,795.) Still, Orley is offering something unique, and that is admirable.
