Riviera Club: California Boy's Life
The three fellows behind Riviera Club are walking models for their own line of clothing. With offices in Santa Monica, Calif., and Santa Barbara, Calif., and the birth of the brand’s concept conceived on a golf course, Joe Sadler, Derek Buse and Gregory Ullery are authentic practitioners of the easy, leisurely California lifestyle that their line depicts.
“We ask ourselves first, ’Would we wear this?’ If we would, then we would put it in the line,” Sadler said. “For the last several years, New York menswear has resurfaced and has gotten a lot of respect worldwide. We saw there was a void in Los Angeles. So we wanted to do a full menswear collection, be taken seriously and convey a lifestyle that we all live... I would say it’s well-dressed but very natural.”
The first season, Spring 2010, has shipped to boutiques such as Ron Herman.
“Everything is very beachy. The lifestyle is very relaxed, fun,” Ullery said of the soft, vintage-inspired T-shirts and cotton wovens.
Buse, who has worked for other contemporary brands, described the line as “really lighthearted—I think, at the end of the day, not taking things all that serious.”
Riviera Club’s Fall version of the coastal life was to take a road trip up to the mountains. Photos of a “dry ski club” that were found in 1960s issues of Life magazine served as the Fall 2010 muse. The collegiate-age co-eds of the “dry ski club” practiced their skills in the off season by sliding down dirty, leaf-covered, snow-less mountains wearing “a beanie, white PF Fliers, some khakis rolled up and tube socks, and a bunch of layering, like sweaters and scarves,” Ullery said.
Sadler translated the mood of “pairing formal items with casual” by adding suiting and more substantial jackets to the line, such as a quilted chambray hunting jacket. Toggle sweaters and chunky cable-knit cardigans in cotton/cashmere completed the multi-layered style. “We washed them, beat them up, still very sun-dried and faded,” Sadler said, explaining how they toned down the seriousness of tailored suiting.
Wholesale price points range from $55 to $78 for woven Japanese cotton shirts to $65 for a French terry trouser and $72 for cotton pants; and outerwear ranges from $148 for a sport coat to $158 for blazer.
For more information, contact derek@rivieraclothing.com.—Rhea Cortado
