Laird Hamilton, English Channel : photo Marc diTiemda / Oxboweb.com

Industry News

Laird Hamilton will launch own clothing line Wonderwall

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 13 May, 2008 : - - The world's greatest big wave surfer and epic waterman Laird Hamilton is teaming up with Steve & Barry's® to launch Wonderwall(TM), a surf and skate collection for men that will debut in Spring 2008. Wonderwall represents Hamilton's first clothing collection, inspired by his sense of style, attitude and overall approach to life.

Hamilton partnered with a team of Steve & Barry's designers to create a cool and comfortable collection of high quality graphic t-shirts, board shorts, woven shirts, cargo shorts, accessories and much more. Wonderwall will be sold exclusively at all Steve & Barry's mall locations, with every item priced at $14.98 or less.

At a young age, Hamilton was raised in a single parent household by his mother. They moved to Hawaii when he was a few months old, and he struggled to fit it in. Things settled down when a young Laird met legendary surfer Bill Hamilton and introduced him to his mother. Bill Hamilton soon became Laird's adopted father and his mom's husband.

Laird will never forget that transition and is eager to help families across the country in any way he can, including helping to create a high quality, affordably priced collection.  The 200-item Wonderwall collection takes its design inspiration from Hamilton's passion - tackling water sports and skating challenges in some of the world's most beautiful landscapes.

The line plays on the themes and colors of natural environments such as Maui, where Hamilton grew up and still resides with his wife, professional volleyball player and model Gabrielle Reece, and their daughter. Over 30 original graphic t-shirts in the collection play off Hamilton's approach to life, such as his personal tagline, "Every man is equal before the wave." Board shorts featuring edgy and artistic details are also at the core of the collection.

Hamilton said, "Wonderwall represents everything I'm about - not only what I wear in and out of the water every day, but also those aspects of life that I'm most passionate about. I'm excited to work with Steve & Barry's to create clothes that look great and are comfortable, but also affordable.

Guys that live the surf and skate lifestyle want to spend their time tracking the next big swell or finding a new skatepark, not worrying about having enough money for t-shirts and shorts." Wonderwall marks Steve & Barry's entry into the surf and skate category, building on a strategy of creating proprietary lifestyle brands that appeal to younger shoppers while remaining accessible to all shoppers.

Other recently introduced collections include women's clothing and footwear lines with Sarah Jessica Parker, Venus Williams and Amanda Bynes, and men's urban and basketball gear and sneakers with NBA® superstars Ben Wallace and Stephon Marbury.

"Surf and skate is a natural extension of our lifestyle brand mix, and Laird Hamilton is the perfect partner to create a line that looks great and embodies his passion for life," said Steve & Barry's co-CEO Barry Prevor. "Laird is an icon for the millions of young men who live the extreme lifestyle today, and we're very excited to enter the category in a huge way together with such a legend."

About Steve & Barry's
New York-based Steve & Barry's® is a leading casual apparel retailer that offers high-quality merchandise at astonishing low prices for men, women and children. Founded in 1985, the company operates over 230 anchor and junior anchor shopping center and mall-based locations throughout the U.S.

At Steve & Barry's, shoppers will find brands they can't find anywhere else, including BITTEN(TM), the first-ever apparel line created by actress and global fashion icon Sarah Jessica Parker, and the Starbury(TM) Collection of athletic and lifestyle apparel and sneakers created with NBA® star Stephon Marbury. Steve & Barry's is also the exclusive home of dear(TM) BY Amanda Bynes, the Big Ben Wallace(TM) Collection, and EleVen(TM) by Venus Williams.

www.steveandbarrys.com

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Industry - Surfersvillage