The iconic sunglass company is back/never left!
What other bits of 2000s nostalgia do you long for?
Last week was a stunner, no? First the Eddie
was on and then the Eddie was off but it was OK because Jaws. Then
the Titans of Mavericks was on and Nic Lamb won and the Committee
of Five nodded solemnly. And then Red Bull found it in the goodness
of their hearts to point cameras at Pipeline and let us
gorge off the teat all day long.
What else happened? Justice Scalia died in his
sleep sending Rory Parker into a fit of ecstatic paroxysms,
Nazarè put on a wonderful
show, Kelly Slater turned 44 and iconic sunglass brand VonZipper
was announced dead also in its sleep. The reporting entity stated
the reasoning was that VZ made sunglasses that, “swallowed the
entire face.”
And so sad. Parko, Taj, the late, great Andy Irons each made
VonZipper mainstays of the 2000s. Bold, colorful, sassy and fun.
Sure maybe a little large but everything was oversized at that
heady turn of the century from pant legs to paychecks. The times,
they were as big as our dreams.
Yes, the passing saddened me and partially because it feels,
stylistically, that 2000-2005 is ripe for a nostalgic comeback. We
could all use a dash of bold, colorful, sassy and fun in our
ready-to-wear. It would show ISIS that we are unbowed. It would let
Putin know to leave the West alone or else. Without VZ shielding
our eyes from the horrors of a refugee crisis, stalled Chinese
economy, racial tensions in Europe and the US, a raging Zika
epidemic, stagnating global wages, though, things would not feel
quite right.
But how our emotions can turn on a dime! This morning I woke up
to find a retraction of the VonZipper obituary buried at the tail
end of a different story! It read:
Oh, and please consider this is an official retraction from
the Stab Department of WordPress CMS Login Details. Stab
reported in Gossip Girl a few days ago that we’d heard a
rumour that VonZipper was closing its doors. Well, we got it wrong.
Very wrong. VonZipper is alive and well, and any surf industry
whispers are false. We for one, are glad that one of the most
beloved eyewear brands in the game will be continuing. We
sincerely apologise to all that were affected by our
inaccuracy.
And this has made my day! I know how fickle rumors can be. How,
in trying to artfully recreate a style of reportage, in trying to
rush first to market, important details can slip away. I mean, I
don’t know but I’ve heard. In any case, welcome back to
the land of the living VonZipper! May your future be as bright as
your past!
And while we are discussing 2000-2005 nostalgia…which bit would
you most like to reconstitute? Kelly already has a lock on the
potato chip surfboard but what else? What would you like to see?
What do you miss?