Surfing - the new black

Recently, there has been some more than mild amusement at the expansion of the Quicksilver brand into other areas such as homewares. Yeah, that's right. Homewares. The expansion of surf brands into new and exciting areas from which to extract another dollar or ten million is intriguing and amusing and leaves me wondering who exactly buys these products?

But it seems the process may also be able to happen in reverse, with one particularly famous and recognisable couture house going into production of their very own surfboards! Uh huh!! The fashion house of Chanel**, that bastion of French style and glamour, brought out surfboards as a part of their sporting accessories range (which currently features a fishing rod!). Although, to be fair, these surfboards are now a couple of seasons old, which makes them redundant in fashion terms!


How much do you reckon?

And this is me with my new board...

What? You don't hang around Italian piazzas with your quiver?

Kitten heels and surfboards - the new beach chic

Surfing, it seems, has entered the mainstream in more ways that we might care to think. And, as it turns out, the California girl look sells...

Custom McTavish? Check. 'Cool' ute? Check. Cowboy hat? Oops, just took that off!

I wonder what copy Chanel used to market their product? I had an idea for them...

Surfing: even rich chicks know the feeling!






**And, for the peace of mind of my dear friend Kate and for the endurance of our friendship, I would just like to say that I don't hate Chanel - it's just that the sporting accessories stuff is SO amusing!


Comments

  1. Polaroid soph4:41 PM

    oh god home wares? really? kill me now!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rebecca Olive4:49 PM

    No soph! No!

    The best way to get them back is to go on despite their homeware.

    Nay IN SPITE of them!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dr Mad Fish9:12 PM

    Well it makes sense. Surfboards ARE the new fashion accessory - if the ubiquitous 'board on the soft-rack' is anyhing to go by. Does leave me wondering if they ever get taken off and used.
    And the girl with the skinny, muscle-challenged legs! WTF, she can barely lift that board and would need more than a few feeds if she ever did decide to go surfing. God I hate this sort of commercialisation.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Rebecca Olive9:30 PM

    A guy I know shapes boards for the 'cool' crowd and he once told me that people sometimes ask him to make two of the same board for them - one to ride and one to hang on the wall!!

    Good for him though! He runs a pretty small operation so if people want something to ride as well as something pristine to hang on their walls in lieu of a painting then it's all the better for him, dollar-wise!

    Haha!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kate6:54 PM

    It really brings up the question of the possibility of fakes... like cheap LV rip off handbags at a dodgy market stall. I wonder if any shapers have been asked to do a fake? Is there Chanel wax? Does it smell like No5? Wait, that's marketing genius. Well maybe this audience is not my target market, but if someone will spend $12K on a chanel board, like couture, there's millions to be made in the accessories!

    p.s. our friendship will survive harder times Bec, but I appreciate the disclaimer.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kate6:55 PM

    and the wax would be shaped like a camellia... god the ideas keep coming!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rebecca Olive7:02 PM

    Ok, ok, I can't deny the absolute GENIUS of the camellia shaped, No.5 scented wax. That is quite inspired!

    My lord Kate! You really are SO good at what you do!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kate10:04 PM

    In a parallel universe somewhere there is a blog dedicated to fashion which has a blog post entitled "Surfbrand tries to do fashion." showing photographs of Quiksilver's summer clothing range. What? It's plausible - I've been to the surf shops. God, I lived through the era of Kuta lines jumpers. If surf brands promise to stop making clothes (and charging ridiculous prices) maybe Chanel will stop making surfboards (but continue to sell $70k dresses.)

    Bec, You've hit a nerve, but I promise this is my last comment on the subject!

    ReplyDelete

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