MONTECITO MOMENTS

The luxury clothing designer Jeff Abrams fell in love with El Mirador at first sight — and it has offered him the perfect life reset

- INTERVIEW: BECKY DONALDSON

Jeff says he bought the 19thcentury estate "on a whim"

Jeff Abrams doesn't do things by halves, and to call him a big thinker would be an understatement. In 2008 he left a corporate career to launch the fashion brand Rails, starting with a single hat. Ten years later, “on a whim”, he acquired El Mirador, a 19th-century estate in Montecito, California.

“I saw it online and it looked beautiful,” he tells HELLO!. “Within two weeks, I had bought a property I had never intended to purchase.”

Jeff was born and raised in Los Angeles, which remains home to his label's headquarters. Today, Rails offers a full collection, including denim and accessories, for those drawn to effortless California style. It is available in 30 countries and the brand has 21 stores in cities including New York, Paris, London and Berlin.

Gisele Bündchen, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Kendall Jenner, Kate Moss and Lily Collins are among the celebrities who have been seen wearing Rails. And since the label expanded into menswear, Matthew McConaughey, Leonardo DiCaprio and Calvin Harris have regularly been spotted wearing it, too.

It was the impossibly soft Hunter plaid shirt - a style that has now sold more than two million pieces - that put Rails on the map. Sumptuous fabrics have remained key to the label's appeal, resonating with customers worldwide.

"Everybody loves to feel amazing in the clothes they're wearing, and when you make luxurious fabrics it doesn't matter whether you're selling in the US, Europe or South America," Jeff says. "People really love feeling great in their clothes."