When thinking about surf style, images of tropical graphics and bright pineapple-y colors may pass though your mind. If so, you’re not that far off. That’s about how creative most designers get when they touch on the genre (a little dated in our opinion). Not so with the collaboration between Thomas Meyerhoffer, one of our generation’s most influential surfboard designers and Isaora, an up and coming NYC based brand who, in a few short years, have garnered a loyal fan base with their city-styled technical apparel. Called SUR FOR WRD the collection strikes a sweet spot between casual summer beach style and performance.
Each piece may appear minimal to the eye, but there are hidden treasures. “Integrated technical details like the panels of schoeller®-dryskin tech fabric used under the arm panel [of the sweatshirts and hoodies] to help deal with the wax when carrying the boards. The same fabric is used on the seat of one of our sweatpants, keeping you dry and more comfortable while you to sit on rocks checking the surf,” Meyerhoffer explains.
Do you need to surf to wear it? No, not really. It may be a refined vision of surfwear that boarders will appreciate, but it’s also a beach-y take on what’s currently happening in stylish corners of cityBstreet style. There’s a color blocking story that’s reminiscent of what designers showed on the runway for this season, the shorts are cut to ever-more appropriate mid-thigh length and the fits on the hoodies and sweats are neither fashion victim tight or gangsta-baggy. And—there are no played out graphics.
But if you do surf, you’ll want to know that Meyerhoffer has created a special board called the SLIP IN. Already it’s being called one of his most radical designs. “It’s a single fin and trims like one, but it turns more like a thruster with the negative cut in the tail. You can adjust how radical you want to be by moving your back foot. We won best in show at Boardroom last October and have seen a lot of orders come through since,” says Meyerhoffer. Aesthetically, the board matches the collection. It’s not ostentatious, expected or at all overdone.
The collection and the Slip In Surfboard are currently available at isaora.com
