Anything can happen on a night on the town, but devising a watertight business plan for a brand-new enterprise in the sailing yacht industry isn’t usually one of them. Yet for Tomas Dean and Oliver Beach, a casual evening in London reminiscing about the days they spent sailing in the South of France resulted in the founding of the luxury fashion brand Leo Dean.
“That night, we agreed that sailing can make life feel timeless and the older generation of sailors are so inspiring,” explains Oliver. Despite having polar opposite careers – Oliver is a professional musician and Tomas was a financial adviser – the pair share an unwavering love for sailing, which they inherited from their grandparents. “Now we want to recapture the glamour of the riviera lifestyle, the bohemian existence, and enjoying life as if there was no tomorrow,” he adds.
Tomas Dean [left] and Oliver Beach [right]
As many avid sailing yacht fans would appreciate, summertimes for Tomas and Oliver were, and still are, spent racing in lakes and taking the family aboard. Having grown up in Switzerland and the UK respectively, lake sailing was a big part of their youth. Since then, the pair have sailed in all four corners of the globe – and agree that the Italian Riviera and South Pacific are firm favourites. Although idyllic, the pair always felt that something was missing from their sailing experiences.
“We never had anything nice to wear sailing!” says Tomas. “Our interest in encapsulating all the perfect things about sailing, and our frustration in not being able to find suitable garments to wear while doing so, is what led us to launch Leo Dean.” To kickstart the launch of the brand, Tomas graduated from the Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design in London.
“Most existing sailing clothing brands do not seem to be providing garments that are fashionable, and not obvious workwear,” adds Oliver. “There are many high-end luxury clothing brands that have a resort, riviera or ski collection, but none focus on yachting.”
Together, they began creating clothing with modern, high-tech fabrics that are practical, high-performing, comfortable and elegant. “The idea is that anything from Leo Dean can be worn on board while working at the helm as well as to the five-star restaurant ashore,” summarises Oliver.
To design the garments with yacht owners in mind, the Leo Dean founders recruited a team in Italy consisting of a designer, product managers and fabric suppliers. “I know I am biased, but our team and our amazing designer is an exceptional workforce,” explains Tomas. “What we have achieved in terms of quality and tailoring is being compared to the likes of the top high-fashion houses. We have full trust in our team, and together we’ve created a beautiful collection that is everything we, and other sailing yachties, want and need.”
Like all pieces of the collection, the Leo Dean unisex gilet is handcrafted in Italy, is windproof, perfectly tailored, and has sun protection built in. If paired with the Leo Dean trousers or shorts, the wearer will feel the soft breathable fabric that’s cleverly reinforced for suitability on deck. Created sustainably with minimised environmental impact in a range of unique colours, the technical and fabrics used are traditionally successful and suitable for sailing, but are still usable for the lifestyle often associated with modern-day yachting.
“Our logo is inspired from all things nautical,” says Tomas. “We recruited the very best graphic designers in Biarritz to help us meticulously develop our branding.”
“We hope that yacht owners will see that Leo Dean offers timelessly chic clothing that has further usability and purpose,” says Oliver.
To see more from Leo Dean, and to shop the latest collection, visit the company website directly here.
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