There’s surf style, and then there’s surf style taken to a whole other dimension. That’s what happened when Adam Kimmel put a transformative spin on the look to create his “Dark Surf” Spring/Summer 2012 collection.
His runway exhibit showcased a standout menswear ensemble: a bomber jacket crafted from Italian-made fabric paired with pleated pants, complemented by slip-on sneakers, and accessorized with his own stylish Kimrim fine-wired shades featuring mineral glass lenses.
The designer’s signature reverse engineering came into play with a pair of reversible pleated pants topped by a surf jacket layered with a zip-hooded jacket. There were tees and board shorts topped by a summer storm coat, and board shorts teamed with knitted polo shirts and button-up blazers or reversible surf crewnecks.
Dressier looks included a dark hip-length blazer over an olive jumpsuit and, in another case, a navy-saturated pocket tee and box blazer over a drawstring pant. The dark base color palette in black, brown, charcoal, olive, and rich blue got kicked up a notch with the occasional flash of cream, cool gray, poppy red, and psychedelic prints.
Throughout his career, Kimmel has consistently evolved and perfected an overarching aesthetic: a fresh iteration of relaxed American cool, drawing from classic minimalist roots reminiscent of Helmut Lang. His distinctive touch lies in exuberantly irreverent innovations, playing with tone, texture, and finely handcrafted cuts.
Explorer of cultural icons
This show also displayed the designer’s knack for spectacle and theater and his dedication to exploring motifs that have defined modern and contemporary masculinity.
His previous “Marlboro Man” American West-focused collection, his creative reworking of the “Casino” themes in the art of George Condo, and his use of “California Cool” imagery attached to the iconic figure of Snoop Dogg all showed a deep understanding not only of fashion design but of cultural resonance. All expanded on their themes in ways that set new standards of design and execution for Kimmel’s peers.
Tough guys under the moon with mushrooms
“Dark Surf” (in the designer’s branding “Dark Surfing with a Psychedelic Undertone”) developed themes associated with Kimmel’s friend, the well-known surfer and artist Taylor Dunfee. The “psychedelic” part of all this was a real thing, not just a metaphor. As part of Dunfee’s surfing experience, he occasionally incorporated the use of psychedelic mushrooms while paddling in the Southern California waves under the full moon.
Dunfee, who became both muse and collaborator, hadn’t expected to be in Kimmel’s show. But he ended up joining the professional skaters and surfers on the Paris runway for what he called a “crazy, beautiful experience.”
As a result of his deep dive into this culture, Kimmel wove Dunfee’s experiences of Windansea Beach into the collection. At this La Jolla community beach near San Diego, not everything was peace and love. Darker elements came into play when tattooed, black-clad surfers would often get violent protecting their turf.
Getting to know Dunfee, Kimmel realized that he had an opportunity to create the kind of surf collection no one had ever done before. Instead of reaching for the low-hanging fruit of fun-in-the-sun imagery, he could work organically from elements of what he called Dunfee’s “sweetheart” temperament underscored by an “animal nature,” defining what it meant to be male, a surfer, and a tough player in a strong man’s game.
Sending waves around the world
The roots of these elements lie in the ancient beginnings of surfing. For Indigenous peoples across the Pacific Rim, surfing began as a form of training and a source of spiritual connection with the natural world.
From its ancient beginnings, surfing has evolved over centuries to embed itself within popular culture, particularly in locations with inviting beaches. The tourism sectors in California, Hawaii, Australia, and Mexico experienced periods of prosperity during the 1950s and ’60s, drawing surfers from across the globe. Iconic films such as Blue Hawaii featuring Elvis Presley, the melodies of the Beach Boys, and the skills of influential figures like surfer and swimmer Duke Kahanamoku all played pivotal roles in shaping the early generation of American surfers, defining their moment and cultivating their unique style.
Clothing brands like Billabong, O’Neill, and Rip Curl were built around the iconography of the surfing lifestyle. As embraced by a variety of designers, surf style was initially characterized by sleekness, form and function, and a relaxed, carefree, color-saturated vibe. Patterns inspired by psychedelia and ikat, rooted in the creativity of Indigenous hubs such as Oaxaca, permeated Western fashion by the 1970s. Since then, the aesthetics of surf style have merged, in certain aspects, with the style associated with various board sports, resulting in the development of energetically practical athletic and athleisure appearances.
The salt-spray-and-suntan-oil-infused Hollister retail brand capitalized on these trends in the mid-aughts. But traditional fashion houses embraced it too. The trend inspired a Gucci 2019 pre-fall wardrobe. The same year, Prada came out with a “Surf Girl” collection. Raf Simons and Calvin Klein were also among the inspired elites.
Capturing surf culture’s deeper meaning
But wherever and whenever we find it, surfer style epitomizes the true sense and value of a commodity underappreciated today: leisure. Surfing carves a space beyond the confines of everyday routines, offering an opportunity to focus on the sheer delight of maneuvering one’s body purposefully and precisely through space. It allows our minds to wander free from the limitations imposed by human-created physical or mental boundaries.
Adam Kimmel’s barrel ride of a Spring/Summer 2012 show gave us the designer at the height of his creative powers, even as he worked under the rare constraint of mounting a show within the confines of a traditional Parisian runway in an older building. His capability to accomplish this, while creating a collection of enduring and effortlessly wearable rugged-refined looks, resembled the skill akin to that of a surfer executing a remarkable aerial maneuver: propelling upward to the peak of a wave, moving forward through time, and then landing firmly on the wave of the future.
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