In the time of surf
This holiday season, when most will be partying in Boracay or enjoying 10-degree weather in Baguio or just sleeping in at home, a select few will be driving up North or flying waaay down South, hoping for a different kind of break — the surf kind, that is. Any surfer or watersport lover will tell you that the months leading up to and tailending Christmas, the New Year and the party season are the best times of the year to catch the waves, either in Siargao, Daet or the more accessible San Juan. La Union province’s surf capital and home station of the San Juan Surf Camp is where Fil-Australian surfing champ Luke Landrigan teaches beginners, surfer wannabes who’ve seen a pre-size zero Kate Bosworth in Blue Crush reruns on cable, and young grommets (what they call surfers 15 years old and below). Luke, who bagged a silver in this year’s 1st Asian Beach Games and sports a year-round natural tan, is also one of the local ambassadors for surf wear giant Billabong, a fact trumpeted even further by his presence on the huge Billabong billboard that looms over the highway going to San Juan.
As far as Luke and surfwear is concerned, Billabong is still topnotch. Distributed by surf and skatewear hub Stoked, Billabong’s wares are prime intimations of how beach and surfwear fashion follows its own path and is different from those that crop up on the catwalk. Stoked also distributes other urban skate and surf brands such as California brand Hurley and Emerica (Billabong’s line for skaters), and it’s apparent that this season’s surf offerings are obsessed with the graphics, fluorescents and indecipherable symbols that permeated the ‘80s.
With the apparent increase of women surfers, the color glut seems just right. Black and white block graphics battle it out with bright green and neon graffiti, on both two-piece suits and board shorts, completely erasing the notion that athletic men have a natural aversion to ultra-bright color.
Even eyewear and accessories for the surf crowd are preoccupied with retro styles. Huge aviator shades are the main draw of hip eyewear brand Electric. Nixon, another Stoked exclusive, purveys uber-cool, brightly-colored watches that are particular to sporty types; some models have built-in tide guides for surfers.
All the color play may be a bit of a shock at first. But, keeping in mind the cheerful holiday spirit, do what surfers always do: Just ride it.
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Stoked is located at Power Plant Mall, Bonifacio High Street, Podium, Gateway Mall and Alabang Town Center.
E-mail comments to ana_kalaw@pldtdsl.net.
