We just dropped our collaboration with Saint Tropez swimwear icons Vilebrequin (if you haven't already, check it out here). The collection features a co-branded towel, summer-ready shirts, tees, bucket hats, and of course, swim trunks.
At first glance, the prints in the collection seem abstract, even random. However, there's a deeper meaning behind the swirl of colors. Founded in 1971, Vilebrequin was the first swimwear brand to bring loose-fitting shorts to European beaches — a look heavily inspired by the laid-back swimwear worn in Southern California at the time. For our collaboration, we wanted to lean in to the original inspiration behind the brand, and look to '70s California.
"Skating in bowls was invented in LA during a very dry period in the 1970s, when everyone emptied their pools — the most iconic being the kidney-shaped pools," says Herbert Hofmann, Highsnobiety's Creative Director. "Connecting the dots between our culture and bathing was an obvious one: from empty pools and skating, to full pools and swimwear."
To pay homage to this period in LA history, we sourced satellite shots of pools around Los Angeles in all shapes and sizes, and our design team put them together in a constellation to adorn skirts and swim trunks. Our second print took a slightly more abstract approach by distorting an image of a skater grinding a ledge.
"The abstraction here is referencing the reflection of water, connecting back to our pool theme," Chloé Techoueyres, Highsnobiety's Design Director explains.
Our Vilebrequin collaboration is now live, shop it below or head to Vilebrequin for more.
