Shotgun Wedding : The Bride Wore Fat Cords, Plaid Dr. Martens and the Music Was Punk
The Look for the coming year? Store buyers from around the world who previewed next year’s merchandise got the message:
Pay heed to the marriage of alternative music and fashion.
Youth-infused counterculture reigns again.
The message was delivered at the Action Sports Beach Expo last week, and despite its name, it was no day at the beach for the exhibitors. While half of the 650 vendors hawked jams and bikinis on one side of the San Diego Convention Center, they were overshadowed by the intense energy on the other end created by companies catering to the hip set 25 and younger.
Alternative clothing, snow board and skateboard companies were stationed on the west side, which some dubbed “the ghetto” because of the dominance of inner city-inspired street wear, tattoo art and an eclectic mix of grunge, punk, techno and heavy rap music emanating from the booths.
Longtime surf giants Quiksilver and Ocean Pacific straddled the line that split the two sides. Though their new lines show the street wear-influenced oversized looks, they couldn’t compete with the newer companies’ daring image, silhouettes and prints on display a few rows into the ghetto. Even Gotcha, with its G-Culture line catering to ravers, proved no match on an innovative level.
“Urban wear isn’t worth doing at the big corporate level because the giants can’t keep up with the quick changes. It’s better done on a smaller, limited scale,” said Rob Howard, CEO of Los Angeles-based Clobber, one of a large number of new companies exhibiting at the show.
Street-wear companies were presenting boxy silhouettes made of heavy duty and relaxed fabrics, and brandishing embroidered detailing. Howard said the oversized look in the last year has gotten “goofier, more playful. We’ve gotten away from the serious gangster look.” Cartoon-like graphics on logos and Tees reflect the shift.
“Fat” corduroy made a big showing in pants, jackets and calf-length shorts. Several companies offered two palettes, brights and muted earth tones, in what one retailer called “a variety of flavors.”
Fat was an adjective used to describe more than just the ribbed surface of fabric. Converse hawked its 1-inch-wide “fat” laces to a new generation of break dancers (yes, it’s making a comeback). And mad hatter Venetian Paradise pushed its “fat-boy,” a soft, oversized, ‘70s-inspired brim.
The popular fat-toe shoe of the ‘50s--Converse’s Jack Purcell--has been knocked off in homage to the original by Etnies and Mossimo, which launched its canvas shoe line at the show.
Dr. Martens offers colorful plaid, gingham and floral versions of its clunky shoe and military boot. “With the new urban clothing explosion, many people don’t want a boring black shoe anymore,” said Leigh Meyer, sales manager for Na Na’s, the leading distributor of Dr. Martens in the U.S.
The hottest seller in Dr. Martens’ Utility division is the ankle-pad hiking boot that looks like it belongs on construction workers instead of nightclubbers.
Work wear also appeared in the form of the zip-front worker’s jumpsuit worn (but not for sale) by Mossimo sales reps, and Soul’s utility one-piece (which is for sale). Soul’s co-owner Chip Rowland said his Huntington Beach company believes work wear will remain strong “because kids see the blue collar identity of working in a factory as a piece of the American dream that’s getting more difficult to attain.”
Rowland predicted a little downsizing, however: “I think we’ve gone as big as we can get.” He sees teens and adults turning to a more tailored, fitted look that is still roomy enough to move in, such as Soul’s striped bell bottom for spring. Shawn Peterson, designer and co-owner of Freak Show in Westminster, agreed that “the big fits will continue, but not so over-exaggerated as they have been.”
Peterson expects the focus among the new companies will be “good basics, good details and good quality.” Indeed, other designers emphasized that the hottest trend is not so much an issue of certain silhouettes or colors, but better craftsmanship, more details (such as contrast color stitching or embroidery logos) with affordable materials.
Patrick Tenore, 19, co-owner of Zung, a Laguna Beach clothing manufacturer, said the new, smaller companies are concentrating on “high quality clothes that are cheap. It’s all about the kids and getting them a good product they can buy. Hey, we are after all the kids buying this stuff.”
