The news that Plum of London’s favourite resort-wear brand has collaborated with the knitwear label’s cherished Savile Row tailor is cause for excitement and news worthy of sharing.

Celebrating travel and exploration, Orlebar Brown and Gieves & Hawkes have collaborated on a capsule collection of tailored ready-to-wear suitable for the modern man and their worldly adventures.

The pre-eminent Scottish explorer David Livingstone has inspired the collection and allowed Orlebar Brown to reimagine his meticulous hand-drawn maps onto a range of utilitarian clothing. Livingstone is one of the most popular national heroes of the late 19th century thanks to his pioneering expeditions and championing of causes from social reform to anti-slavery.

In many ways Livingstone has deep connections with Gieves & Hawkes. When Livingstone was feared dead in 1871, the New York Herald sent Mr Stanley to find him. Dressed in Hawkes & Co, Stanley found Livingstone in good health and well-dressed in Gieves. Upon Livingstone’s death, his body was returned to London to lay in repose at No.1 Savile Row – the headquarters of the Royal Geographical Society at the time and the home of Gieves & Hawkes since 1912.

The unique collaboration summons the spirit of curiosity, exploration and discovery both brands convey making it a project both apt and fitting.

As Livingstone said himself:

“I AM PREPARED TO GO ANYWHERE, PROVIDED IT BE FORWARD”

David Livingstone (19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873)