Riviera Club Sets Sail at Ron Herman
From left, co-founders of Riviera Club Joe Sadler, Derek Buse and Greg Ullery are poster boys for their brand’s California lifestyle line.
The founders of the men’s clothing line Riviera Club look like they live a charmed existence. The brand was conceived by Joe Sadler, Derek Buse and Greg Ullery on a golf course. And with its offices in Santa Barbara and Santa Monica, work often gets derailed in favor of beachside margaritas.
Somehow it gets done, as evidenced by the shelves at Ron Herman on Melrose Avenue that are stocked with the brand’s debut Spring 2010 collection for an afternoon party on April 24.
“We shipped it!” Buse said.
“That’s why we’re celebrating. It’s a miracle. Literally, it feels like the biggest college product that you ever had multiplied by 100,” added Sadler.
Both Buse and Sadler previously worked in marketing/sales and design, respectively, for other contemporary clothing lines.
“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 and be taken seriously and sort of, basically, convey a lifestyle that we all live,” said Sadler of launching the new venture.
The three co-founders are the perfect poster boys for their clothing line, which includes rolled-up pants, cut-off corduroy shorts, and T-shirts and woven shirts that look sun-faded and windblown.
“I grew up surfing, so I think the lifestyle as you can see by the white wash bar and the Corona and the colors—everything is very beachy. The lifestyle is very relaxed, fun,” Ullery said.
“Really lighthearted. I think at the end of the day, not taking things all that serious,” Buse said.
The merch and shoppers at Ron Herman, which was the first store to write Riviera Club
The live-fast-die-young life of legendary Malibu surfer and playboy Bunker Spreckels was an inspiration for the designers.
