From Surf 
To Turf: Style,
On & Off
The Board

Fashion — Aug 29

Whether you're hanging five or hanging ten, the fashion industry has one foot on the street and one foot in the water. Fashion — Aug 29

When it comes to authority and influence, or the difference between the two, few things define personal style. And viral moments — similarly hero pieces, those celebrity-approved items that strike chords with the internet, like flip-flop heels or oversized puffers — tend to outweigh eras. Social media has killed the decade, where style was organized by the '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, and so on. And instead, we look back on fashion as we knew it as a guiding force toward a more "personal" sense of "style".

But no period of fashion — how ever we can interpret the idea — has withstood the ebbing tides of how we dress ourselves quite like the surf and skate style of the ‘70s through the ‘90s. Be it slip-on sneakers (Vans or yesterday's Céline), bucket hats (Prada or vintage), secondhand denim of all shades and sizes, or designer skateboards, the nostalgia is real. From top(s) to bottom(s), tropical prints have replaced florals and become almost neutral, like animal prints or stripes.

Clyde Bucket Hat, $184, available at Clyde; Etro hat; Collina Strada tee; DROMe long sleeve tee; Sally Lapointe pants; Roxanne Assoulin Rainbow Brite Bracelets, $75 - $350, available at Roxanne Assoulin; Salemtown Co. x Kindred Black Cruiser skateboard, $300, available at Kindred Black.
Camilla and Marc Roberta trench, $799, available at Camilla and Marc; Cynthia Rowley Hendrix romper, $365, available at Cynthia Rowley; Dior swimsuit; Eugenia Kim hat; Bally shoes; Viso Tapestry Blanket V07, $220, available at Viso Project.

No period of fashion — how ever we can interpret the idea — has withstood the ebbing tides of how we dress ourselves quite like the surf and skate style of the ‘70s through the ‘90s.

Replica Los Angeles tee; Emilio Pucci Blue Patent mini-skirt, $840, available at Emilio Pucci; Area Crystal Ankle A Sandal heel, $690, available at Area; Trina Turk Crusher Hat, $109.99, available at Trina Turk; Roxanne Assoulin Not So Little Bits necklace, $75, available at Roxanne Assoulin; Roxanne Assoulin U-Tube necklace, $120, available at Roxanne Assoulin; Hermès skateboard.
Giorgio Armani dress, $6,095, available at Giorgio Armani; Chanel hat; Dinosaur Designs earrings; Lady Grey Fraction collar, $288, available at Lady Grey; Mary MacGill Baroque Pearl choker, $185, available at Mary MacGill.

At the root of this sportswear meets ready-to-wear phenomenon, though, is the phenomenon of “effortless fashion”; not the notion that everything in one’s closet can be paired with everything else, rather that clothes should last decades — at what cost, however, is up to you. Other feelings that emulate from “effortlessness”: uncomplicated, light, smooth (like the vision of almond milk being poured into a grail of iced coffee or the humming of a surfboard atop an A-frame wave). In other words, fashion that hangs loose.

J.W. Anderson dress; J.W. Anderson x Converse shoes; Etro skateboard.
BOSS trench coat; Etro top; Marc Jacobs x New York Magazine track pants, $395, available at Marc Jacobs; Christian Louboutin Red Runner Donna sneakers, $1,195, available at Christian Louboutin; Emilio Pucci hair tie.
On Adesola: Fendi PVC trench, $4,507, available at Farfetch; Missoni dress; Bally Janelle shoe, $850, available at Bally; Lady Grey Warp earrings, $180, available at Lady Grey. On Patricia: Cynthia Rowley wetsuit, $265, available at Cynthia Rowley; Missoni vest; Santoni sandal, $439.70, available at Santoni. On Danielle: Hermès coat; Camilla and Marc Phoenix top, $200, available at Farfetch; Ralph & Russo skirt.
On Adesola: Dion Lee dress; Lisa Marie Fernandez Jasmine bikini, $395, available at Lisa Marie Fernandez; DSquared2 pants; Chanel belt, $1,600, available at Chanel; Chloé earrings. On Danielle: Normaillot swimsuit; DSquared2 romper.
Sportmax windbreaker; Adeam top; Preen shorts.
On Danielle: Oscar de la Renta shirt; Versace tights; J.W. Anderson x Converse shoes. On Patricia: Camilla and Marc Sawyer top, $249, available at Camilla and Marc; Christian Louboutin sneakers. On Adesola: Alanui cardigan, $796, available at Farfetch; Tory Sport shirt, $64, available at Tory Sport; Etro pants; Teva x Anna Sui sandal, $275, available at Teva; Lady Grey Contortion earrings, $180, available at Lady Grey.
Sportmax tee; Chistopher Kane Lace Bonded Satin mini-skirt, $322.08, available at Christopher Kane; Collina Strada sweatshirt; Etro skateboard.

Like most trends rooted in real-life, however, it won’t matter who can actually surf or skate; just as it’s never mattered if anyone in a leather jacket and studs can actually play a Gibson or carry a beat.

Like most trends rooted in real-life, however, it won’t matter who can actually surf or skate; just as it’s never mattered if anyone in a leather jacket and studs can actually play a Gibson or carry a beat. And that won’t deter those reared on neoprene and board shorts from keeping the trend alive for at least another decade or so. It’s why, as summer drifts away, we’re still holding on to the easier side of getting dressed — whether that’s throwing a pair of sandals with suit pants or a blazer over a bikini top. Something tells us that's what being cool is all about.

Credits Photographed by Rémi Lamandé; Styled by Jacqueline Zenere; Hair by Riad Azar at Art Department and Shingo Shibata at The Wall Group; Makeup by Chris Colbeck at Art Department and Liz Olivier; Modeled by Adesola Adeyemi at One Management, Patrícia Zajacová at MUSE Model Management, and Danielle Ellsworth at The Society Management.
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