50 YEARS OF
VACATIONING

Born in 1971, you had one thing on your mind: owning a Walkman®. Once you got your driver’s licence, you loaded up your trunk and hit the open road. Starsky & Hutch had nothing on you ― especially in the denim department. Mobile phones weren’t a thing. No one could call you. Bliss! Elvis was still around, but his fashion was all lamé and frills. Not like the stars whose posters you had on your wall. Who was it again? Blondie? James Bond? There’s a man who knew how to kill it on the beach.

Coincidence? Probably not. Off you raced to the movies to see Le Mans with Steve McQueen or Dirty Harry with Clint Eastwood. The world was mourning the loss of Jim Morrison, Louis Armstrong and Coco Chanel. But you’d soon succumb to “Marky Mark”, Vanessa Paradis, and the Baywatch theme tune. John moved in with Yoko. Meanwhile in Saint-Tropez, Sénéquier® was already selling his exceptional nougats, and Vilebrequin had just started life, coinciding with the body liberation movement, which everyone was about to embrace. Big style. Things were hotting up. It was time for a swim.

Besides regrettable hairstyles and interesting tan lines, what did the 80s give us? Hold on to your perms.

-Waterbeds made big bucks. More than the Dynasty cast put together. You can leave your Vilebrequin on.

- Boomboxes gave you beach-ready biceps. No wonder, as they weighed 26 pounds on average. Pump it up.

- The smiley emoticon was popularized in 1982. It’s been used at VBQ HQ approx. 5 billion times :):):)

- Jane Fonda is entirely to blame for leg warmers. We still use her exercise tapes. Once a decade.

- Can’t figure out your Rubik’s Cube? Don’t sweat it. It took the inventor Erno Rubik a month to solve.

Just for Vilebrequin, Mixologist Charles Vincent revamps everyone’s favorite beach cocktail. Umbrella compulsory ― this is the 90s, after all.

You’ll need:
― 5cl of Jamaican rum or non-alcoholic rum
― 2cl of lime juice
― 2cl of coconut syrup
― 2cl of jasmine-infused peach juice (infuse on a low heat for 30 mins)

Shake vigorously with ice and filter into a champagne glass. Alternatively, add a little water and use a granita machine. Part Puerto Rican. Part Caribbean. 100% yum.

On the decks for Vilebrequin: Chilean/Parisian DJ Cosmo Gonik, creative director of La Mano nightclub.

An eclectic and ― let’s just say it ― seductive mix of tracks to listen to by the pool, on the streets or in the sheets. Anywhere you want to move your hips. So noughties.

In 2016, Vilebrequin began working with French Polynesian nonprofit Te Mana O Te Moana (Maori for “Spirit Of The Ocean”) to flip the conversation on sea turtle conservation. Sales from our annual charitable edition have raised $200,000 and counting! Thanks to your generosity, Vilebrequin’s spirit animals aren’t just surviving, but thriving. 1500 injured sea turtles have been released back into the wild, with 100,000 school children taking part in awareness programs.

And because it’s never too soon to get them involved, the 2021 Neo Turtles charity swim trunk now comes in size 12 months. Baby’s first Vilebrequin swimwear. Cute! And eco-conscious, too.