Billabong women’s range rides a new wave

By

Olivier Guyot

Published
Jul 15, 2013

Group management announced the initiative as one of its development priorities during the presentation of interim financial results in February. Besides tightening control over its sourcing partners and network of stores, the Billabong group talked about opportunities in its women’s lines.

Today, the eponymous brand is showcasing the results of this effort, “following six months of global research” for the spring-summer 2014 season. “While we’ve been pleased with our recent overall women’s wear performance, we see an opportunity to set the brand apart from the sea of sameness that has crept into this category and the message from both the core surf and wider active lifestyle market is – differentiate and innovate,” said Mike Savage, Billabong global brand manager.

The label said it had taken “a head to toe approach, with high quality finishing touches, Italian fabric, an innovative signature design style and bold patterns and design.” The collection draws on inspirations such as the beaches and culture of South Africa and appeared to go after a slightly more mature clientele than in the past.

For example, the design team developed a new design approach for its bikini collection, dubbed “Mix 'n Clash.” The brand said it had also reinterpreted the beach bralette “to create a versatile fashion product that can be worn both in the water and out on the town.”

The brand explained it has advanced to four seasons per year with a spring and summer collection, “to meet the needs of fashion trends and products requested by our consumers.” Billabong has set up an interactive catalog online to facilitate sales of this spring-summer 2014 line.

The group’s participation through RVCA and Element at the Berlin tradeshow Bright is also an opportunity to show that its brands continue to move forward and offer new products, despite ongoing negotiations with U.S. investment funds Altamont Capital and Sycamore Partners over the sale of some of its assets.