Surfer Kelly Slater's recently launched Outerknown clothing line "mixes surf roots, luxury prices and a really-easy-to-say but harder-to-explain founding principle of 'sustainability,'" according to Adam Tschorn of the L.A. TIMES. The surf-inspired menswear label "eschews bright colors, bold patterns and overt logos." Outerknown Creative Dir John Moore said, "We're surfers that grew up with surf brands. But the key is we grew up." Tschorn noted Outerknown's Coastal Casual collection "includes T-shirts, button-fronts, relaxed trousers and shorts as well as lightweight outerwear pieces all made in runs of less than 300 pieces." The theme of the debut collection "is 'a clean slate,' hence a color palette grounded in navy blue, black and heather gray." Slater and Moore "first worked together on VSTR, a short-lived label under the Quiksilver umbrella." Outerknown "isn't the first brand to use sustainability as a selling point." But "with Slater's vision, Moore's track record of creating covetable and comfortable clothes, and the determination of both to build the brand slowly and transparently, it's a label with a lot going for it." The "grown-up-surfer-meets-sustainability approach comes at a time when more traditional surf labels struggle to stay relevant as their heavily teen markets turn to other interests" (L.A. TIMES, 9/14).
BUCKEYE OF THE BEHOLDER: In Columbus, Jim Weiker notes former Ohio State women's basketball player Jessica Davenport this year has "started Envy My Tee, a customized T-shirt printing and apparel business." Davenport is the "sole employee and works out of her home." She said, "I’ve always wanted to have a little shop here in Columbus selling sneakers. Then I found out how hard it was to get a contract to sell the sneakers online. I needed stuff to fill a store, so I went online to see how you can get different brands in your store. Then I got into customization and how T-shirts are made and printed, the different techniques. That just kind of took over" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 9/13).
