SAN DIEGO — Trends at the ASR Trade Expo here pointed to a growing movement to “surf boutique,” a catchphrase representing the overlap between surf, skate and young contemporary apparel.
At the three-day trade fair that ended Sunday at the San Diego Convention Center, board-sport companies offered spring looks with affordable prices for teenage shoppers, clothes that were trendy enough to be sold at mainstream stores.
“Women want fashion,” said Marie Case, managing director at market research firm Board-Trac in Trabuco Canyon, Calif.
Robbie Jeffers, sales representative for Sweden’s WeAretheSuperlativeConspiracy, said female shoppers have an eye for unique pieces. “They’re not as brand-loyal as dudes,” he said.
Companies are evolving to appeal to fickle customers. Fox Sports Inc. hired Janelle Corpuz from Roxy to design its women’s accessories and expand into totes for spring. “We’re opening more boutiques than ever because of Janelle,” said James Onstott, Fox’s national sales manager, holding a boxy gold lamé tote embroidered with the company’s name and fox-head logo. “We wouldn’t have done this two years ago. We were scared to get this edgy.”
James Niebling, a buyer for Pacific Sunwear’s urban-focused d.e.m.o. stores, considered looks from Live Mechanics and Massive Revolution, and searched for denim from capri-length jeans to miniskirts. “We’ve always been in the hip-hop world, but the needle of fashion has shifted toward the [contemporary],” he said.
Many buyers from core surf-and-skate retailers were less inclined to test newer brands. David Miranda and Wendy Mejia from El Rollo Skate Shop drove from Tijuana, Mexico, to order screened hoodies and tunic-length T-shirts from established companies, including Billabong and Volcom.
Katy Davis, co-owner of Alliance Board Co. in Paso Robles, Calif., picked up Volcom bikinis, which were shown for the first time at ASR and wholesale from $16 to $20. She said she is phasing out of her store brands not associated with surf, skate and snow companies, to “support the industry that supports me.”
At Insight, a 28-year-old Australian brand that has established U.S. headquarters in San Clemente, Calif., microshorts with metal hooks and rivets were big. Though an ASR veteran, Insight recently separated swim from women’s apparel, a decision intended to create a more defined contemporary category for its retailers, including specialty accounts Fred Segal and Barracuda, both in Los Angeles.
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“We’ve really been able to wedge into the market sideways and get into the contemporary specialty stores,” said Vanessa Chiu, showroom manager for Insight.
The skinny jean seemed to be losing momentum. “It’s really hard for a lot of girls to wear,” said Michelle Devine, O’Neill’s vice president of sales for juniors, who showed straight-leg jeans, denim HotPants and miniskirts. “We’ve been hearing from all our retailers that denim has been slow.”
That didn’t deter DVS from launching jeans for spring. Wholesaling for $32, the straight-leg style came in a faded blue wash and a dark denim rinse, with a cream shoestring as a belt.
Ezekiel hoped to boost jean sales by introducing red- and brown-colored denim, which cost $3.50 more than blue jeans. “It’s a little bit Marc Jacobs meets Pat Benatar,” said Ezekiel creative director Ryan Rush.
Countering the downturn in denim was the popularity of dresses and shorts. Split Juniors doubled the number of dresses offered for next spring from a year ago. Tops that mimicked dresses also did well. At Eden, the junior brand from Element, buyers liked blousy tops that draped past the hips. Tube dresses and the color magenta were big for Roxy.
Swimwear trends such as camouflage prints were updated for cruise and spring with new accents. Billabong added contrasting patches and embroidery to its camouflaged swim pieces; OP spiced up the military print on its bikinis with skulls and bright flowers, and Body Glove swimwear’s camouflage included hearts and skulls.
“You need something to differentiate yourself,” said Noah Gellis, sales manager for SGS Sports Inc., the licensee for Body Glove swimwear. In addition to Body Glove, the Montreal company displayed Skye, a contemporary swim brand owned by SGS that is new to the U.S. market, and NASCAR swimwear, which is being produced by SGS under a license agreement.
Compared with the 700 brands participating in ASR, the Agenda trade show, held Sept. 8 and 9 at the San Diego Concourse, displayed a comparatively intimate 126 labels of mostly T-shirt and casual knit tops.
The skull-and-bone motif popped up everywhere, from Campus’ zip-up hoodies in an allover skull-and-rose print to Designateria’s burnout T-shirts bearing an X-rayed cat skeleton. T-shirts printed with large appliquéd images, such as those by Rvca, were also robust sellers.
Gramicci, a 25-year-old outdoor apparel company in Malibu, Calif., launched its premiere fashion collection at Agenda with cargo pants and T-shirts in muted purples and citrus hues. Gramicci sales representative Michael Donovan said he liked Agenda “because it’s easy and funky. We fit in.”
Agenda’s size attracted buyers like Andrea Wolf from Zebra Club, a four-unit specialty store based in Kent, Wash. She scoured both Agenda and ASR for casual dresses and voluminous tops to pair with leggings.
SPRING 2007 TRENDS
- Rope trim on waistbands, shoes and bags, as well as prints of anchors and ships on pockets and tops.
- Prints, ranging from animal spots and stripes in fluorescent colors to Eighties-style graffiti art.
- Sixties-style lightweight coats with oversized buttons and three-quarter-length sleeves on top of skinny jeans and leggings.
- Longer shorts in cotton jersey and fleece, often with matching hooded sweatshirts treated to look worn in.
- Crisp, clean white denim in all pant lengths, including HotPants, Bermuda shorts, skinny jeans and straight legs.
- Sweet and feminine dresses and tops with eyelet and dainty polkadot prints.
— With contributions from Rachel Brown