California Apparel News

Designers at the Tavik brand thought that there was no reason to make yet another boardshort in Orange County, Calif.—the center of the surf industry and a place where scores of companies make boardshorts.

Tavik’s crew looked for an alternative, and they found that they could make a splash in a body of water tucked away from the ocean where boardshorts are de rigueur. Tavik made swim trunks for pools. The gamble paid off.

The pool-ready swim trunks became the foundation of the Irvine, Calif.–headquartered brand’s Modern Beach Culture line in 2011. The line used technical fabrics and aspired to contemporary and design style.

It has been placed at high-end retailers such as American Rag Cie, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom. The brand continued to make its Beach line as well as its action-sports clothes, which are typically made available at surf and skate–friendly shops.

Action sports was the style that started business in 2004, said Jillian Leeman, Tavik’s director of women’s division, which also makes clothes for the Modern Beach Culture line. “We can focus on multiple distribution points that don’t compete with each other,” she said.

For Spring 2017 season, Tavik plans on expanding its contemporary looks in its men’s line and its women’s line. For the women’s styles, it took inspiration from its fashion bikinis and maillots which are manufactured in Los Angeles. The Rose dress, for example, takes a top from a one-piece swimsuit and brings more material to create a cocktail dress. Other dresses are inspired by the brand’s coverups.

The Spring 2017 collection also includes the “Staycation Staples” capsule collection. It is a loungewear line featuring pieces such as crew neck sweaters, shorts, rompers and sweatpants. The Staycation capsule is made from ultra-soft Modal fabric and has a worn-in look.

For men, Tavik will introduce the “Wexler” collection for Spring 2017. The capsule collection will offer three poolshorts at three different lengths—18 inches, 19 inches and 20 inches. The brand also will include something for its action-sports customers. The “Wexler” collection will offer a four-way performance boardshort, along with a hybrid walkshort, which can be worn in water and land, as well as cropped pants. All of the pieces will retail for $60.