This isn’t your typical woman’s wetsuit

With a slide, twist and reversible fabric, a wetsuit can adapt to a range of water temperatures and weather conditions.

That’s the idea behind Alyx Tortorice’s wetsuit.

The 22-year-old senior enrolled in Laguna College of Art and Design’s (LCAD) Action Sports Design program launched her line, Starfysh Wetsuits, last year, and this month placed Best in Show in Print Magazine’s Wearable Design Awards.

The wetsuit company was founded out of necessity, the avid surfer said.

“I had a lot of wetsuits, but when I’d be wearing a long one, two hours later I would want a short one because of the difference in water temperature,” Tortorice said during an interview in an LCAD classroom. “I just decided to make one.”

With her studies in design and textiles, Tortorice designed a woman’s wetsuit that incorporated, “S-Lock Technology,” a closure system where the wetsuits are designed with removable arms and legs that can be attached or detached at a rubber overlap.

The reversible wetsuits, Tortorice said, were intended for women surfers who want to mix and match their watersport clothing. The separate pieces can make seven different ensembles.

One side is made of black neoprene, while the other features patterns named after surf spots special to Tortorice, including Thousand Steps in Laguna Beach and Ditch Plains in New York.

Tortorice, who grew up East Hampton, N.Y., started surfing at age 8. She caught her first waves in Montauk, a break on Long Island.

Four years ago, she was accepted to LCAD with plans to major in fine art. After she told her advisor that she enjoyed painting surfboards, she switched her major to graphic design and joined the new action sports art program.

While in class, Tortorice imagined a wetsuit that could be transformed and worn in summer and fall seasons. She hoped for a pricepoint in the middle of the typical suits, which range from about $150 to $400.

She wrote a business plan, hand-drew designs, pulled from savings and named the company, “Starfysh,” with the unique lettering referencing the spelling of her first name.

Starfish, she said, have the ability to regrow their limbs and like the wetsuits the design also has the ability to “shed” and “regrow” pieces.

The “S” emblem symbolized two fins of a surfboard, and the beginning letter of the words “sunrise” and “sunset.”

“Everything has a purpose,” Tortorice said.

A challenge in the production process has been learning how to work with a Southern California factory that makes the wetsuits. Tortorice said she has to be specific in addressing the wetsuit’s stitching and patterns.

Her wetsuits sell for $245.

Tortorice said she also has designed T-shirts and pillows that are handmade from recycled beach towels.

Over the course of her studies, Tortorice has interned at Vans, Victoria Skimboards and Garreau Designs. She has worked on projects with Stance and Hurley, and when she is not in class finishing her final semester that ends in December, Tortorice works part-time at The Soul Project in Laguna Beach.

Catharin Eure, chairwoman of graphic design and founder of the action sports design program, is proud of her student’s ability to be both creative and business-minded.

“Alyx learned to be entreprenuerial through the program,” Eure said. “She has the spirit of, ‘It can happen’, and we told her it was going to be a hard road, but she has the skill and passion.”

Professor Dana Herkelrath told Tortorice that she captured the lifestyle brand of surf culture.

The wetsuits are available on the company’s website, at The Soul Project and at Flying Point Surfing Sports in New York.

Tortorice plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for production expansion, where she can create a new line with different styles.

Her career goal is to become a wetsuit designer at Patagonia, since the outdoor clothing line developed a renewable bio rubber considered the fire realistic alternative to Neoprene, a petroleum-based product at odds with many surfers’ environmentalist views.

“I think I’m filling a void in the surf industry and that feels good,” Tortorice said of her line. “It’s an awesome learning experience.”

For more information, visit starfyshws.com.