Men’s Surf Apparel SS16 Trend Report

Reef

The Age of Surf Couture?

As endemic surf brands are kicking their product launch preparations for Spring/Summer 2016 into high gear, the first previews reveal an eclectic offering that is increasingly less low brow, and more high fashion and cosmopolitan. Are we entering the age of Surf Couture? Trend Report by Dirk Vogel. 

Any way you slice it, men’s fashion is having its moment in the sun. Men are officially spending more on apparel than women these days, and according to FashionUnited projections, menswear will contribute close to $40 billion in annual sales to the global apparel market by 2019.

And for reasons much too broad to discuss here, men all across the board have developed a taste for more mature, refined apparel. Streetwear has been first to “grow up,” now reaching a point where the hip-hop scene is abandoning urban wear in favour of luxe items such as $1,500 distressed moto-jeans by top-shelf brands including Balmain. Accordingly, the streetwear scene is currently experiencing what fashion blog Business of Fashion calls the “Rise of Rap Couture.”

Also riding the high fashion wave, men’s surf apparel has come a long way over the past seasons in terms of silhouettes, materials, and upscale stylistics. Setting a new high water mark – including elevated price points – Kelly Slater’s surf clothing line Outerknown was recently launched under the Kering Group umbrella: Refined and cosmopolitan, Outerknown’s inaugural collection features ethically sourced chinos ($185), soft knit sweaters ($385), geometrically patterned hoodies ($425), and silhouette-hugging plaid pea coats ($545). Already, men’s magazines such as GQ are singing the new collection praises for “un-dorking” surf wear and nailing a look that “works damn near everywhere.”

Quiksilver

THEMES
Although it’s too early to proclaim a new era of “surf couture” – and $400hoodies are still a long stretch from $1,500 bleached jeans with tons of holes in them – the GQ article hits at least one nail on the head: Surf apparel is expected to work “damn near everywhere,” these days, and not just the beach. Which brings us to the major trend of the season: Surfing clothes, as Urban Beach puts it, “are now expected to adapt to their use occasion, be that surfing, chilling on the beach or heading to the bar later on in the evening.” From a collections standpoint, this day-and-night theme translates into versatile pieces that go from the beach, to the nightlife, and back.

In order to keep you covered 24-7, The Critical Slide Society created the Jumble Jacket and Cotton Gauze short sleeve that “can be dressed up and worn out at night and can just as easily be thrown on for an afternoon at the beach.” As the perfect round-the-clock companion, Finland’s Baja clothing suggests their signature Baja Hoodie: “It is a product for many different situations because of its big hood, kangaroo pocket, and fresh colours. It is the perfect jacket for festivals, for spring/summer nights, the beach, and even for city life!”

Speaking of city life, Quiksilver segments its Stay High collection into times of day with AM and PM divisions: “Through AM we are taking on beachwear with lighter, knocked-back colours, fun washes, a little bit more playful, colourful graphics and a heavy focus on boardshorts. The PM side to the creative direction allows us to tap into streetwear and start to bring in some of those trends that we weren’t capitalizing on before.”

Billabong

INFLUENCES
In terms of influences, surf apparel brands are riffing on a variety of stylistics. In the new Surf Plus line, Billabong is “borrowing cuts from the military and marine worlds, the leather, washes and textile details have been crafted with a focus on durability and light, broken-in comfort.” Music will forever be an influence in surf apparel, and The Critical Slide Society (TCSS) takes the subversive route: “A Serge Gainsbourg song ‘Sea, Sex & Sun’ is really the catalyst of the collection this season. It’s pretty much what TCSS is about in the summer months. The line is actually called ‘Hotel Particular’.” Sounds hot!

And bringing the thematic influence full-circle, brands find plenty of source material in California beach life – past and present. Juliana Dantas, SUPERbrand’s Apparel M&D Director: “The main theme for the collection is called Sea Culture, which captures the modern beach vibe of Southern California, with a sense of fun beach cruising and living in the modern days.” Looking back in time, Baja Clothing’s original inspiration for the pullovers come from 70’s Baja California. For example in the evening after surf or in the city, there is a need for some comfortable and fresh looking pullover, and that is where Baja hoodie is perfect. 

Travel once again invites apparel designers to weave dreams of faraway places into their garments, with Quiksilver drawing inspiration from Brazilian environs from the beaches to the favelas. Reef apparently lost their heart to one of the world’s pristine beach spots: “Bali was our inspirational region of the season and we have key prints that speak to the colour, feel and mood of Bali. Design was influenced by the colour of the sea while in Bali, the natural colours of the landscape as well as the brighter colours inherent in the culture.” At Iron & Resin, it’s all about blazing your own trail, says Chris Smith: “The catalyst for this seasons collection was the people who we consider to be ‘Path Makers.’”

COLOURS
Colourways trending in 2016 cover three different territories, which Brunotti’s Head of Design, Joffrey Delfgaauw, divides into three collections: “Blu Italiani is about our Italian roots combined with the blue colours of the sea, which we love so much. La Giungle Surf is the jungle next to the beaches with bright and tropical prints for a summery feel. And Spiaggia Della Sardegna is about beach classics in surf and sun-faded colours.” 

These colour trends are echoed by other brands, for instance sun-faded primary colours and neons at Billabong, or the oceanic colour palette all over Protest’s new line: “Beautiful deep lagoon blues, shells and tropical birds – the paradise of a desert island – the Marooned collection brings a shipwrecked element to the collection with inspiring graphics and prints.” Also never going out of style, the entire military heritage palette of sand, olive, black, and navy continues to march ahead in SS16 collections, preferably in washed-out colours for that lived-in, time-tested look. 

True to surfing’s penchant for spicing things up, a little colour pop still goes a long way. Adam at DaKine enlightens us: “Colours for SS16 is a mix of wearable neutrals with pops of athletic brights like Sulphur and Neon Blue.” For the sleeper hit among colours for next season, Juliana at SUPERbrand points out: “I have been seeing a lot of oranges hues being used for SS16, from warm to cold tones.” Watch out for orange! On the more subtle side, surf brands are taking a hint from the ‘street goth’ movement with black prints on all-white tees. Nicolas Perceval at Billabong confirms: “The shirt ‘Rapture SS’ from the Garage line is inspired by free surfing freak punk Creed McTaggart, with geometric shapes dominating the black and white silhouette that come with psychedelic delusions.“

Urban Beach

MATERIALS
At the end of the day, nothing elevates a garment and justifies price points like materials. The three main stories for SS16 are technical materials for active performance, sustainable fabrics, and upscale materials – or material blends – for an elevated look and feel. Technical materials are a home game for innovators such as O’Neill. Jan Lindeboom O’Neill Category Manager for Men’s Surf, Apparel and Footwear, is stoked on, “Hyperdry technology in collaboration with LIQUIPEL, a super-fast quick drying fabric with nanotechnology. The Hyperdry T-shirt fabric from bionic yarn is made of cotton, recycled ocean plastic and polyester. It’s a Hyperdry fabric so it’s ‘wicking’ quick dry fabric. Perfect for everyday use, but also for surfing or sports.”

Speaking of “recycled ocean plastic,” sustainable and re-used fabrics are finding their way into many collections. Eco-friendly material stories used to be the cutting edge, but have now become status quo across surf collections. Finland-based Baja Clothing even goes as far as saying that they “will use only fabrics which are eco-friendly.”  

The third major trend in materials is best summed up as ‘fabrication’, meaning the use of fabrics and textures for a finish that lets customers ‘feel the difference’. Fabrication is a key trend at surf renegades The Critical Slide Society: “We use a variety of cotton and blends in different weights and fabrications to ensure that lived in hand feel is paramount across the whole collection. Washing also plays an important role in fabrication, how well does it wash and what effects can we draw from it.”

Reef

CUTS AND SILHOUETTES
Now that surf clothing seamlessly traverses from the beach to the bar to the bougy restaurant, fits and silhouettes have seen form-fitting upgrades across many lines. (This, by the way, is great news for retailers, as trying on garments will become key for customers looking to nail that perfect fit. Just make sure they buy where they try!) Supporting the around-the-clock style factor, Iron & Resin have just the thing in the pants segment: “Our Engineer chino pant or shorts are the ‘do everything’ leg covers! Ideal around a campfire or dressy enough for a night out with the lady friend. The 8.5 oz brushed canvas is so velvety smooth and only get better with wear.”

Even the humble t-shirt is getting a makeover, embracing new fits while paying attention to colour trends. At Protest, head of marketing Anjet Wesselink explains the current push: “We see a big variety in t-shirts, therefore we redesigned our tees – we’ve upped our game and extended the range with neckline variations, washes and yarns. With colourful all over prints – even on pockets – preppy stripes, the burnt-out look or the inside out effect. There are possibilities for everyone.” On the same note, Urban Beach is banking on the Pizarro Tee: “This is looking to be our most popular men’s tee. It’s 100% cotton Melange heavy Slub fabric gives a distressed vintage effect with a high quality logo print finish and is available in calm Palm Island colours or the deep and exotic Copacabana Beach tones.”

At the end of the day, a little stretch action can make all the difference on an action-packed day. The new blend of stretchy, active fabrics with contemporary fits is exemplified in Quiksilver’s Street Trunks line: “For example the Yoke Cracked trunk. Uni-colour and straight-fitting, this trunk features an all over print on the waistband and brings everything you need in a walkshort: Multi-functional pockets in the relaxed tailoring, stretch cotton twill and a relaxed, surf-inspired streetwear style.”

Quiksilver

PRINTS AND PATTERNS
Hawaiian prints and florals continue to bloom, injected with subtle details. For Brunotti, these patterns help express the brand’s Italian roots, as Joffrey explains: “Prints and patterns are very important. One of the main prints is a tropical print with leafs of olive trees, and basil. Complete with olives, it’s an Italian tropical print!” Over at Protest, the Jungle print pattern,“injects a vintage Hawaiian feel, full of stunning greens and photographic prints of exotic plants, leaves and flowers.”

Keeping in mind what we already said about the black-and-white colour trend, Protest’s Rebel Pack collection graphics are “inspired by the classic skate and café racer motorcycle cultures. This predominantly black and white range is symbolic and saturated with attitude from the city streets of downtown LA,” Anjet Wesselink tells us. Geometric prints – most of all triangles – are gaining momentum in many collections, including Billabong’s Garage line that “welds geometry with a stripped-back stealth.”

Billabong

But despite all the subtle colourways and mature designs, the classic ‘loud’ message t-shirt still rides strong in SS16 surf apparel collections. Standouts include TCSS’s epic Life Fast Die Shredding slogan T-shirt, and Billabong’s artist collab with Ornamental Conifer, aka artist Nicolai Sclater, featuring slogans such as ‘Shape Up or Ship Out!’ for an extra dose of surf attitude.

So there you have it – attitude and day-and-night surf flavour are still more important than playing the game of upscale fashion design. What’s even more reassuring, endemic surf brands pride themselves in offering genuine value for the money – so no $1,500 jeans any time soon. Chris at Iron & Resin concludes: “The fabrics we use, whether it’s the canvas in the Union Work Pant, denim in the Scout Jacket, to quality used for the wovens and chambrays, the twills in the bottoms – and the list goes on – are the best quality fabrics any of our competitors at similar price points can compare.” On that note, surfing is still far away from Rap Couture, where things are nice because they are expensive ­– not the other way around.

HIGHLIGHTS

▲ Tailored for day-and-night

▲ Travel, the sea & ‘70s Cali beach culture

▲ Materials – ‘feel the difference’

▲ Sun-faded and washed out

▲ Mature, form-fitting silhouettes using stretch

▲ Geometric prints in black-and-white