Surf’s Up--Again : Beach Wear Industry Poised to Get Out of Its Endless Bummer

In the ‘80s, surf wear practically sold itself to consumers who couldn’t get enough of the Day-Glo shirts and shorts designed by Southern California companies.

The industry wiped out late in the decade, though, as neon colors fell from favor--on the beach and off. Teens and young adults seeking a new look turned to the dark, baggy urban styles inspired by rap and hip-hop groups, adopted by skateboarders and broadcast nationwide on MTV. Sun-drenched was out.

Surf wear makers were forced to regroup, and some, including longtime leader Ocean Pacific Sunwear Inc. in Tustin, eventually wound up in Bankruptcy Court. National sales of surf apparel and accessories, worth about $1.5 billion annually in the late 1980s, tumbled to $500 million by 1991, industry observers estimate.

“Beachwear is no longer the fair-haired child of the department store,” said Alan G. Millstein, editor of Fashion Network Report in New York.

But the industry is positioned this year to catch a ride on an unprecedented wave of marketing opportunities. In June, legendary surf filmmaker Bruce Brown and New Line Cinema will release “Endless Summer II,” a sequel to the 1964 mother of all surf flicks. There’s also talk of a sequel to “Big Wednesday,” the 1978 surf classic.

And Disney is considering a movie about the late Dewey Weber, a legendary surfer whose ashes were scattered on the waves at Redondo Beach in 1992 while hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects.

“We’re going back and using surfing as a vehicle, as a window to a time that wasn’t so complex,” said Weber’s ex-wife, Carol. “And in doing that, we found a great untapped reservoir of interest. Surfing is something that Hollywood thinks is very marketable.”

The fashion industry thinks so too.

“America is a sport-driven country, and there’s still a romance with this sport,” said Shaheen Sadeghi, a former executive of surf wear maker Quiksilver in Costa Mesa. “It’s got an almost mystical attraction because it’s not something most of us are exposed to.”

Surfing will also be getting big play this year on the small screen. Prime Ticket plans to televise 11 U.S. surf contests this year, including the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach in August--the first world-class surf contest on the U.S. mainland in three years. And Coca-Cola has signed a multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal with the Assn. of Surfing Professionals for TV programming to be beamed to viewers in 23 countries.

Sales of surf wear will surely benefit, said Lesa Ukman at IEG Consulting in Chicago.

“It’s like beach volleyball,” she said, a sport that was unknown in most of the United States until the TV networks started covering it. As its popularity soared, so did demand for clothes like those worn by the pros.

Being on television, Ukman said, “can do great things for lifestyle products.”

At the least, the new surf movies may refocus attention on Southern California as a playground rather than a recession-torn region pummeled by earthquakes, wildfires and floods.

“When Los Angeles had the riots and fires, the Southern California fashion industry inherited the ashes,” editor Millstein said.

Not even the most optimistic beachwear makers expect the surfer look to be the rage again. But the manufacturers group notes that Americans will buy 315,000 surfboards, 162,500 snowboards, 450,000 volleyballs and 467,500 wet suits this year--and will spend $405 million on clothes to wear while using that equipment.

Quiksilver, which is licensed to produce “Endless Summer II” shirts, hats and accessories, is among the companies that intend to ride the media wave. Standing to benefit are those “with the most credible surf images--Quik, Rusty, Billabong, Stussy . . . not the surf wanna-bes,” said Robert B. McKnight Jr., chairman of Quiksilver. “This isn’t going to help launch fake labels like ‘Surf Fetish,’ ‘Maui & Sons’ and that kind of crap.”

Apparel makers say that what they’re looking for now is not a fad like Day-Glo but a profitable niche under the broad “beach lifestyle” umbrella.

“We’re not interested in being a trend or fashion-driven,” said Mark Price, a former Gotcha Sportswear vice president who is now an executive at Tavarua Island Surf Co. in Laguna Beach. “We want to serve customers who don’t change the way they dress.”

To do that, Tavarua is developing a line of casual clothing, including T-shirts, hats and sandals, with a South Pacific look, Price said. Tavarua--named for a South Pacific island with spectacular surfing--will be carried by 70 retailers nationwide.

Ocean Pacific, which led the charge in the Day-Glo ‘80s, is trying to revive its apparel lines. The company last year sold its remaining assets through U.S. Bankruptcy Court to a Bay Area investment group that is now producing designs that incorporate the well-known OP label.

Da Bull, a 2-year-old Long Beach company, is focusing on styles like those worn decades ago by long-board surfers. Similarly, Hang Ten in San Diego is building on its line of “retro” clothing that borrows heavily from the ‘60s.

Industry insiders maintain that surf wear will always play a role in the larger fashion scene. “I think the story is that this industry is still alive, that after all these years it’s still here,” said Paul Holmes, a Hang Ten executive.

Shop owners express some doubts about whether movies and TV alone can bolster sales.

“People buy clothing because it’s cool . . . (not because) they know anything about surfing or care anything about surfing,” said Ron Jones, who sells surf apparel through B’Jammin’, a Winter Park, Colo., specialty store chain.

Surfers, too, question whether the wave of media interest means anything.

“It’s just another tide change in surfing’s hype,” said Shawn Stussy, a surfer and creator of the highly successful Stussy Designs in Irvine. “ ‘Endless Summer II’ and ‘Big Wednesday II’ aren’t soul movies like the original ‘Endless Summer.’ These are Hollywood epics. They’re apples and oranges.” And there’s no guarantee that they will sell clothes.

“It’s just like the Super Bowl,” said Don Meek, a Prime Ticket vice president who is also a surfer. “I can deliver to the advertiser the most highly rated show in history. But it’s up to the industry to put product on the shelf that people want to buy.”

Unlike major sports, which can drive clothing sales by licensing a popular team’s logo, surfing hasn’t had a single, dominant focus since the demise of Day-Glo. And though the popularity of dark, slouchy street styles is waning, surf wear now faces a new challenge: the “Northern Exposure” look, which borrows from the outdoorsy, Pacific Northwest styles worn by the cast of the award-winning TV show.

“In New York, Boston and Chicago you see these people dressed up like they’re going mountain climbing,” Millstein said. “But the only hill they’ll ever see is the one in Central Park where they walk their dogs.”

While male teen-agers may still crave Southern California labels such as Mossimo, Quiksilver and Rusty, many older men are instead choosing “that outdoor, wholesome, Eddie Bauer look,” said Tom Campion, owner of the Zumiez specialty store in Everett, Wash. “And it’s definitely something that had its origination here in the Northwest, not in Southern California.”

Tony Cherbak, a retail expert in the Costa Mesa office of accounting firm Deloitte & Touche, acknowledged that “the Timberlands of the world are out there.”

But “I’m a firm believer that the beach lifestyle never goes out of style,” he said. “Surf has dealt with hip-hop, it’s dealing with grunge. The wholesome look is just one more look coming through.”

Surfing U.S.A. Surfing industry experts predict that 1994 will see a comeback of surfing and a return of surf wear to the retail limelight. Influential events: * TV coverage: The Prime Ticket cable network will air 42 hours of surf programming to 41 million homes, an increase of 50% over last year. * U.S. Open and Op Pro: Huntington Beach will be host to back-to-back surfing events. The prestigious U.S. Open of Surfing, a sanctioned World Championship Tour event considered the largest and most heavily publicized surf event in the world, will be held July 26-31, followed by the 13th Annual Op Pro Surfing Championship Aug. 2-7. * Surfing Magazine Turns 30: The magazine, founded in 1964 during the surfing boom, will celebrate its 30th anniversary with several collector editions and will serve as the official publication for the U.S. Open of Surfing. * “Endless Summer II”: A sequel to the classic surf film “Endless Summer” is scheduled for release in April or May. The director is Bruce Brown, who did the original.

Catching a Wave The number of Americans who board surf at least four times a year is expected to increase 10% in 1994. Estimated number of active surfers, in millions:

1992: 1.1

1993: 1.4

1994*: 1.5

Sales of surfboards, particularly long boards, are expected to increase this year, along with demand for wet suits and other beach apparel and gear. Units sold, in thousands:

1992:

Surfboards: 250

Wet suits: 400

1993:

Surfboards: 285

Wet suits: 425

1994*

Surfboards: 315

Wet suits: 467

* Projected

Source: Surf Industry Manufacturers Assn.

Researched by JANICE L. JONES / Los Angeles Times