Mossimo Looks to Luxe
Mossimo Inc. is heading away from the beach and going upscale through its Modern Amusement division.
The company, which recently purchased Modern Amusement, has tapped veteran streetwear designer John Moore to be the creative director of the newly acquired streetwear label.
Moore served as the senior director of design at the Abercrombie & Fitch Co. since 1999, when he was hired to help launch the New Albany, Ohio–based company’s Hollister Co. division, a California lifestyle apparel line that targets 14- to 18-year-olds. Before that, Moore worked as a junior designer at Los Angeles–based streetwear label Fresh Jive.
Moore will also be a vice president with Mossimo, based in Santa Monica, Calif.
Despite Mossimo’s roots in the surf business and Moore’s experience with surf-inspired fashion at Hollister, Mossimo has different plans for Modern Amusement.
“We all appreciate surfing, and we all do it. But we’re taking Modern Amusement down the luxe path, making reference to both our West Coast and East Coast heritage along the way,” Moore said. “If we ever do boardshorts, they’ll be the most luxe boardshorts on the market.”
Whimsical color, clean styling, slim silhouettes and luxurious accessories will be part of Modern Amusement’s signature style, he said.
Honing Hollister
As the creative director of Hollister, Moore developed the brand with graphics, prints and woven fabrics reminiscent of California’s beach cities. Moore was also responsible for creating visuals—including a Web site that highlights beach city hangouts and local sounds—and for developing Abercrombie’s West Coast satellite office as a headquarters for the brand. In 2003, he was promoted to senior director of global concepts for men’s, women’s, boys’ and girls’ apparel for Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister.
“We wish John well,” said an Abercrombie & Fitch spokesman, who declined to discuss Moore’s role in launching the Hollister brand.
In the late 1990s, Moore designed streetwear clothing at Fresh Jive, where he honed his urbanwear design skills alongside Rick Klotz, the company’s founder and head designer.
“People were surprised when John went from being a designer at this small, but respectable company to having this huge opportunity with Abercrombie & Fitch,” Klotz said. “The company’s plan was to launch a brand that represents West Coast lifestyle. I couldn’t think of anyone better to do that. John is the essence of Hollister.”
Now, Moore will bring his aesthetic to Modern Amusement, a better boutique collection for men that fits somewhere between better casualwear and urbanwear. Modern Amusement is carried by specialty retailers such as The Closet in Costa Mesa, Calif., and Huntington Beach, Calif., and American Rag in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Moore’s experience with men’s apparel, his professionalism and his understanding of the Mossimo brand made him a top choice for the position, said Mossimo Giannulli, president and chief executive of Mossimo, which licenses its Mossimo brand to the Target Corp.
Last January, Giannulli purchased Modern Amusement’s assets for $250,000 from veteran surfwear designer Jeff Yokoyama, who founded Maui & Sons and Pirate Surf before launching Modern Amusement in 1995. At its peak in the late 1990s, the company earned $8 million. However, in recent years, sales have dropped to about $2 million, according to industry observers.
Last year, Modern Amusement pared back its expenses by closing its stores in Los Angeles, Hawaii and Japan. Plans to open new retail stores are being considered, the company said.
Lending credibility
In his new position, Moore will focus on Modern Amusement’s men’s products and accessories and launch the women’s line for Spring 2006. He will also be responsible for the advertising, packaging and creative direction of the brand.
One of the biggest challenges Moore faces is maintaining the brand’s independent spirit, industry sources said.
Greg Weisman, an attorney who heads the apparel industry practice group at Silver & Freedman in Los Angeles, said Modern Amusement’s independent acquisition by Mossimo could put the smaller brand’s indie image at risk. But, he said, Moore’s presence at the label lends credibility to the line.
“Having a background with such diverse companies as Hollister and Fresh Jive make the hire of John Moore a move in the right direction,” he said, adding that some apparel visionaries have trouble “being able to successfully navigate the management of a very large company like Abercrombie & Fitch with all of its bureaucracy.”
Another new addition to Modern Amusement is Brian Awitan, whom the company named vice president of sales last January. Awitan declined to give year-end sales projections.
“Our plan is to be disciplined so we have a nice growth,” he said. “We want to maintain Modern Amusement’s philosophy, which is ’We’re not here to hype in and hype out. We’re in this for the long haul.’”
Modern Amusement is relocating its headquarters from Costa Mesa to a facility adjacent to Mossimo’s headquarters in Santa Monica. Mossimo has expanded its headquarters from 6,000 square feet to 9,000 square feet, the company said.
