Targeting a younger customer, Invista Inc. has agreed to a marketing partnership with surf and swimwear specialist Billabong to promote XtraLife Lycra.
A print and digital ad campaign will feature big wave surfer Maya Gabeira, for whom Billabong has designed a signature two-piece swimsuit with XtraLife Lycra. The print ads break in May in Elle, People Style Watch and In Style. The coral swimwear, which will sell as separates, with the bra and pants each priced at $39.50, will be available in the U.S. in June at specialty swim store chain Everything but Water. Sizes will be S, M and L.
“We saw this as a marvelous opportunity to co-brand,” said Andrea Matousek, Invista’s North American swimwear Segment marketing manager. “Billabong is a very important brand in the U.S. We are going after the 18-to-29 age range, the young, fashionable surf customer.”
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Gabeira received an ESPY Award from ESPN in 2009 as Best Female Action Sports Athlete and won Best Overall Female Performance at the annual Billabong XXL Awards from 2007 to 2009.
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Matousek said an online design contest will go live on Mylycra.com on May 1 for users to design a signature suit for Gabeira with silhouettes and colors and XtraLife Lycra. Billabong designers and Matousek will cast the final vote, and the winning design will be unveiled at retail for summer 2011.
Candy Harris, women’s brand director at Billabong, said swimsuits worn by world-class surfers like Gabeira can “take a bit of a pounding.”
‘When you’re dealing with 50-foot monster waves, XtraLife Lycra is a huge plus for Maya,” she said. “It really holds shape well and it’s very good at withstanding the chemical breakdown of lotion and oils.”
Harris added that Billabong will use XtraLife Lycra in its Billabong Runway group of fashion swimwear for 2011.