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California Dreamin'
Jeff Abrams, the founder of US fashion brand Rails, mixes pieces found on his global travels to help create a relaxed vibe in his beautiful Montecito estate
Although firmly rooted in the Southern Californian lifestyle, Rails boasts a refined European sensibility that has made it a global hit. Quickly evolving from its trademark Hunter shirt made with Tencel – a revolutionary super-soft fabric – the brand is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year and now offers a full lifestyle range.
Appropriately enough, after being named in homage to the Interrailing that founder Jeff Abrams did after college, Rails has a big focus on travel. A starting point for each collection is garments that are effortless to wear and to pack, but also pieces that appeal to its growing global market.
“There are not a lot of brands from California who are really thinking of themselves internationally,” Jeff says. “We’ve really tried to set ourselves apart by doing that.
“I think about each market as if it’s our own backyard. They’re cultivated on a grassroots level. I don’t think of the UK as some far-off location that we’re sending things out into the ether to, and that’s hopefully why we will continue to be successful.”
From very early in the Rails story, celebrities have been buying the clothes: Gisele Bündchen, Beyoncé and Kate Moss all wear the brand and, after buying a Rails shirt, Matthew McConaughey went on to buy ten more for his friends. “This has been great for putting the word out there,” says Jeff.
Celebrity families are his next target: “Where the mother, children and dad all wear it. Cindy Crawford and her family would be good,” he says, with a smile.
Travelling around Europe – and specifically living in Italy – not only inspired the concept of the label, but prompted Jeff to purchase “on a whim” El Mirador, his beautiful 19th-century home in Montecito, California, after it made him feel nostalgic for his time abroad.
“I discovered it online two years ago,” he says. “I’ve always dreamt about a romantic country retreat away from the busy LA life.
“I viewed it with no intention of actually buying – it was more to allow my countryside dream to last a little longer,” he adds, laughing. “But as soon as I drove up the tree-lined driveway and the house was revealed against the beautiful landscape, I fell in love.
“It was almost as if I had travelled back in time to southern France, to a house filled with European history and classic heritage. It was an emotional experience and I knew it was destined
