A Look at 1986, and the Climate for ’87 : Apparel

Orange County continued to expand its niche as the nation’s headquarters and style center of the surfwear industry in 1986 and further growth seems certain in the coming year.

“It’s very much still a growth industry,” said Jeff Wetmore, co-founder and co-publisher of Action Sports Retailer, a South Laguna journal that tracks the casual apparel industry.

According to the state Economic Development Department, 183 apparel companies now make their homes in Orange County, up from 168 companies the prior year. About 50 of those manufacturers are devoted to production of beach-style casual wear.

During 1986, about 4,300 workers were employed in the apparel industry in Orange County, about the same as last year but up from 3,800 in 1984. More than half of the apparel manufacturers had fewer than 10 workers.

But it isn’t the size of the industry that has placed Orange County on the apparel map; it’s the global influence of the creative and trend-setting casual fashions being launched by area companies such as Maui & Sons, Burmys, Gotcha and Quiksilver.

“New York thinks it will remain the fashion capital, but California is coming up as a trend-setting area,” said Michelle Markman, executive editor of California Apparel News, a Los Angeles weekly trade journal.

For the beach and casual clothing segment of the market, Orange County clearly has emerged as a prime trend-setting area, industry experts agree.

Trends toward more casual clothing nationwide and the simultaneous success of many different styles also are working for Orange County makers.

“There is a very strong trend toward differentiation,” Wetmore said.

Tustin-based Ocean Pacific Sunwear hopes to capitalize on both trends. Noting that the surfer-style clothing is becoming mainstream, the company said it expects sales for this year to be about $255 million but anticipates a leap to about $340 million in 1987. Ocean Pacific reckons it “could easily” become a billion-dollar company within five years.

Quiksilver Inc., a Newport Beach surfwear designer, and its eight shareholders caught a big wave earlier this month by selling out an initial stock offering of 2 million shares for $16.25 million, becoming the first of the area’s fledgling apparel firms to go public.