Quiksilver’s Festival Reminds Us Why Surfing Matters More Than Ever
Quiksilver’s annual surf, skate, and music festival in southwest France has become a highlight on the surf calendar. Taking place after the end of the Championship Tour season, Quiksilver Festival is much more than a surf competition—it’s a celebration of everything the coastal lifestyle stands for.
Set against the rolling dunes and pine-backed beaches of Les Landes, the event celebrates not just surfing but the entire world that surrounds it. People gather from all across Europe to soak up the atmosphere and while away the days on the golden sands, watching the world’s best surfers catch waves. In the evenings, a program of screenings, live music, and parties keeps the energy high.
It’s easy to see why the festival has such a wide appeal. For city dwellers, the surfer way of life is an antidote to the fast-paced digital reality of city living. Sunrises and sunsets over the ocean, losing track of time as you wait for the next set of waves, and the rhythm of life by the shore all create a profoundly elemental way of life that is in such short supply in modern times.
Still, surf culture is often reduced to surface-level clichés (“yeah, I’ve seen Point Break”), with the stereotype of surfers being aimless wave-chasers. “People think surfing is not a career… They think it’s just a hobby," says the WSL Rookie of the Year Marco Mignot. "They don’t know how hard it is, how dangerous it is, and how much work it actually takes.”
Surfing gear suffers from the same generalizations. “I think the biggest misconception is that surfing is just sort of 'aloha,' floral shirts, boardshorts," shares pro surfer Kanoa Igarashi. "But surfing is really similar to skateboarding, in that it’s got such a cool street culture.”
Born in California to Japanese parents and now based in Portugal, Igarashi spends the year moving between surf spots around the world. “Europe has that real sort of city, urban feel to surf culture. The United States has a very deep-rooted culture. Tokyo and Japan have this urban edge. And then in Australia, you get this pure, organic version of surf culture.” Naturally, fashion follows. “You pick up little trends everywhere. You go to cool stores, grab pieces on the road. Suddenly, you’ve built a wardrobe that’s versatile and unique,” he adds.
Few sports leave their athletes more exposed to the elements than surfing. Surfers spend hours floating under glaring sunlight, skin pruned by salt water, only to emerge into temperatures ranging from below zero to over 100°F, depending on location and time of day. In the water, it all comes down to the wetsuit. At this year’s festival, Quiksilver introduced a new range of wetsuits made with Primaloft, a material more commonly seen in mountain outerwear for its insulating properties. Bringing it into wetsuits makes them warmer, more flexible, and more comfortable. As Igarashi comments during the presentation, "If you're thinking about your wetsuit when you're in the water, that's taking up mental space that should be focused on your surf."
Out of the water, surfers need wardrobes that are as adaptable as the conditions—layering up after chilly dawn sessions or warming quickly after winter surfs. That practicality has evolved into style. “Over the years, clothes have become much more fashion-oriented,” Mignot reflects. “I feel like everybody can use them now—you can be a surfer or not. [Quiksilver] continues to go in that direction, which is really good.” It’s a natural progression for Quiksilver, a brand that defined skate and surf style in the late ’90s and early 2000s, and continues to push the sport forward today.
At its heart, though, the spirit of the Quiksilver festival is rooted in something simple: the core surf ethos. "It’s just waking up in the morning, having a good coffee, going surfing, and just enjoying the ocean. Just jumping in the water,” he says, “you come out, and you’re a happier person.”
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