Ron Herman, Venroy partner on ivy-covered board short design
A partnership between the L.A.-based retailer Ron Herman and Australian surf brand Venroy Sydney has resulted in the release of an extremely limited 30-piece collaborative board short bearing the distinctive ivy-covered facade of the Fred Segal Center on Melrose, home to the flagship Ron Herman boutique.
The shorts are a cool study in simplicity and, from afar, they might be mistaken for a pair of run-of-the-mill color-blocked surf trunks with a swath of horizontal baby blue topping a similar-sized swath of forest green. But upon closer inspection the ivy pattern is revealed and one realizes the top half of the trunks depicts a cloudless Southern California skyscape.
While we weren’t that familiar with the Venroy label until we heard of the collaboration, the ivy walls fronting Melrose are such an ingrained part of Los Angeles retail culture we felt compelled to pass news of the collaboration along. It’s also worth mentioning since it’s yet another example of the retail-as-brand trend we’ve seen gathering steam over the last couple of years. (See also Opening Ceremony’s recent efforts and the 2012 sale of the Fred Segal name to name but two).
According to the Venroy folks, the dye sublimation printed shorts are made in their Sydney factory using a 100% peach face (a.k.a. microfiber) polyester fabric that’s given a water-repellent coating. The one-off, exclusive design is intended as a homage to Ron Herman since it was the first U.S. retailer to stock the brand.
The 30-piece collection of collaborative $250 board shorts rolls out to retail May 1, with 20 pairs destined for the shelves of Ron Herman’s Melrose Avenue boutique and another 10 available through Venroy’s website.
