DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT : Don’t Bring Down the Rod Iron and White Curtains Yet: Mossimo Giannulli Has Designs on a Long-Term Career
This has been quite a year for Irvine-based sportswear designer Mossimo Giannulli.
For the third straight year, he has been nominated for the Marty Award, which recognizes excellence in menswear design and leadership in the industry on the West Coast. The winner will be announced next month in Los Angeles.
In June, the designer received the 1992 Orange County Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Sponsored by Inc. magazine, Ernst & Young and Merrill Lynch. The top honor goes to business executives who take risks, are innovative and practice growth-oriented management.
This season saw the launching of Mossimo Sole, a footwear line inspired by the classic styling of Converse’s Jack Purcell low tops, but with forward fabrications and colors applied from the collections.
The first Mossimo in-store boutique opened in the Bullock’s Men’s Store at South Coast Plaza in August; it will be followed by a series of such departments that the designer hopes to open nationwide.
The Mossimo collection arrived in 16 European countries six months ago, a move that is already seeing success in tough markets such as Germany and Italy.
A Mossimo design landed a spot in Sports Illustrated’s legendary swimsuit issue--for the second consecutive year. This legitimizes the label as a swimwear manufacturer, he says, especially because the women’s swim and sportswear line had only been introduced in spring 1991.
The recently opened Hard Rock Cafe in Newport Beach chose Giannulli for its hall of local heroes. The designer accepted the honor by donating a hand-painted and signed tank from his Harley Davidson motorcycle collection to the restaurant’s permanent exhibition of memorabilia.
Not bad for a 29-year-old who started out in 1987 making volleyball shorts in his Balboa Island garage.
In six years, Mossimo the Company has expanded into a full collection, which includes in addition to the men’s, women’s and shoe lines: Optics, high-end eye wear; AXS, an accessory complement of hats, bags, wallets, belts with cast iron buckles and, soon to be added, temporary tattoos, lighters and key chains.
It also has grown into a $32-million success, expected to increase with the addition of the shoe line and the overseas expansion.
But don’t expect figures to multiply too much higher. Moss (as he’s called by those close to him) has a moratorium on opening any new accounts, opting to limit distribution in a strategy he hopes will keep the label viable for a long time.
“How many millions do you have to make to be happy?” he demands. “I’m passionate about the long-term life of this company. I have a big picture of what I want it to represent.”
Those plans include building up existing displays within stores and creating in-store boutiques. “I want people to see rod iron and white drapes and immediately think Mossimo,” he says, referring to the crisp signature interior details that decorate his 31,000-square-foot headquarters in Irvine and his booths at trade shows.
The look is a cross between post industrial, with its cement floors and chunky concrete furniture “legs,” and Mediterranean, with it whitewashed walls and black iron fixtures.
“I always had an eye and interest for design, and I appreciate anything that’s well-designed,” says the former USC business major. If he hadn’t ventured into fashion, he says architecture would have been his calling.
His idols are Ralph Lauren and Giorgio Armani, both of whom have developed signature styles that are instantly recognized around the world. It’s a direction he aspires to through a formula of consistency, quality and integrity. “If you follow these three things, you can’t lose,” he says.
For spring ‘93, the men’s line will feature 75 pieces, such as chambray button shirts, silk denim tops and bottoms in indigo and colors, hooded jersey shirts, twill vests and colorful piece-sewn shirts (from $15-$300). Coats and jackets in leather, wool and other fabrications also will make up the season because of his expansion into the colder East Coast and Europe.
“I haven’t left the beach influence,” he says, “but it’s a small part of a big world.”
His overall collection shows the casual influence that comes from growing up in Southern California. This is especially reflected in the sportswear end of Mossimo Women, with its sexy dresses and rompers ($28-$44). For spring, lingerie sheers mix with gray pin-stripes, and sunflowers are printed over a colorful plaid. Some of the line’s swimwear ($48-$60) almost looks too fashionable for water, such as a black suit trimmed in leopard fur--a strong contender for this February’s Sports Illustrated, Moss says.
Taking a cue from the style-conscious women’s swimsuit and men’s lines, Italian-made Optics ($100-$160) features 17 styles that borrow the best of retro design with modern sensibilities. The same thinking went into Sole, manufactured by Vans. The deck shoes ($40-$46) are updated with black bumpers, ionized eyelets and the signature logo badge that pops up throughout the collection.
