One's from NYC (and it ain't Saturdays), the other's from LA (and it ain't Vissla)!
When was the last time y’got the thrills at surf co stuff? Sure, you might pick through a few pieces on the rack and find a t-shirt that’s wearable (but that logo! Always the logos!) or a slimmish pair of jeans that don’t feel entirely like they were made for three bucks in Bangladesh.
But, for the most, it’s a car-crash of crudely interpretated fashions from Europe mixed with a desire to thrill the schlubs buying for the various surf stores chains. The amount of times I’ve wandered through a mainstream brand and found rad pieces that never made it to production still amazes me.
“Yeah, the buyers didn’t like ’em,” the designer’ll say before getting back to his tight-waisted bell-bottoms and t-shirts that bag on the chest but fall only just below the waist.
Crazy ain’t it. But there are two surf brands out there… right now… making some music we think is worthy preserving.
1. New York Sunshine
Yup, it ain’t Saturdays, which has devolved into some kind of graphic print t-shirt factory anyway. Go to Southampton on Long Island, down Nugent Street, and you’ll find John “Sunshine” Margarita’s appealing New York Sunshine Surf Club store. You want a basketball and mostly white colour vibe? You’ll find it here. The store’s only been open a year but it’s been lavished in the mainstream press, from GQ to Complex. The owner is a big Knicks fan and it shows. Think a little Stussy, a little Supreme, all folded into surf.
2. Topo Ranch
Alex Kump and Eric Hartnack built this LA-clothing brand around a legendary cattle ranch. Eight years since their first range, and with a flagship store in Venice (are you fainting with chic and authenticity right now?) it delivers a vintage-style menu of surf style without the look-at-me-I’m-so-eighties vibe of Warriors of Radness. They don’t always get it right, but who does? And you should see the cutie ethnicity-indeterminate gal behind the counter at Venice. The most alarming of smiles and electricity!