Neoprene Dream
Jill Anjuli Hansen in her own California Candy wetsuit. Photo by Gina Sinotte
Though a blonde by nature, surfer Jill Anjuli Hansen wanted to crush the stereotype of the quintessential blue-eyed and golden-tressed surfer chick. “I’ve always loved tattoos, and a lot of surf companies don’t want to sponsor a punk-rock surfer,” Hansen said.
“’We need her to be sweet, cute and blonde like this.’" Hansen said potential sponsors would tell her. "That’s not me. I’m sweet, but I’m real.” During the time that she was unsatisfied with the current wetsuit offerings in the market, Hansen met a Japanese wetsuit manufacturer through a friend and had custom suits of her own design made.
“I wanted a sexy wetsuit for myself. Most brands have men designing women’s suits. They don’t get where we need the cuts and where we need the curves. I wanted the hottest wetsuit in the water,” Hansen said. “Everywhere I went, women paddled out to me. ’Where’d you get that? I love that suit. Can I get a suit?’ Women are stoked on them.”
After fielding inquiry after inquiry, Hansen decided to put her luxury neoprene suits into production under the name California Candy. Two collections—a bright colorblock group and a shiny latex-looking group—will be available online and are scheduled to deliver to select shops this summer. Prices range from $300 to $1,000.
As a FIDM alum, model and free-lancer in surf-brand circles, Hansen designed the suits from a fashion perspective. Pants, booty shorts, zip-up jackets and halter tops can be layered like an outfit depending on how chilly it is. All the suits zip up the front so that they can be worn like a sexy deep V-neck. Hansen plans on adding swimwear and luxury beach towels as well. “It gets a lot of attention, so it's for a very confident woman. A lot of women surfing nowadays are successful career women. They’re not little girls.”
Hansen learned to glide on Waikiki's shores next to the boys. Don't even think about dropping in on her. Photo by Gina Sinotte.
Photo by Gina Sinotte
Photo by Myles McGuinness
