The owner of The Closet boutique and the founder of Irvine-based apparel maker Ambiguous Industries are looking to tap into the luxury clothes market with a premium surf line that’s being picked up by upscale boutiques around the world.
Smooth Co.,first created by Billy Stade, who runs The Closet stores,is getting a hand from Frank Delgadillo, president and creative director of hip clothing maker Ambiguous, and an unnamed silent partner.
Stade originally created the Smooth brand 14 years ago and sold the high-end clothing in his stores. He never had the time or resources to really develop the line. Stade runs four stores in Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Santa Monica. The Closet carries a mix of upscale surfwear and trendy fashion clothes.
Smooth makes T-shirts, button-down shirts, sweaters, hoodies, coats, trousers and jeans. Prices run about $50 for a T-shirt to $800 for a leather jacket.
The company’s first shipment is arriving in stores for the fall. Boutiques carrying the garb include Fred Segal in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, Beams International Gallery in Tokyo, Villains in San Francisco, Atrium in New York and Harvey Nichols in London.
Delgadillo, who founded Ambiguous out of his dorm room at Chapman University in 1995, said he liked the idea of teaming up with Stade, whose stores often are called “The Fred Segal of Orange County.”
Stade received an award from MR Magazine, a trade publication for menswear stores, for finding a unique retail niche.
“Nobody knows product like Billy,” said Delgadillo, whose Ambiguous line sells at The Closet stores.
Delgadillo wanted to work on a new brand instead of creating “Ambiguous premium,” he said.
“It helps me broaden my outlook,” Delgadillo said.
Ambiguous has seen some big changes. It was bought in late 2005 by Irvine-based Ray’s Apparel Inc., which cranks out clothes with labels licensed from others. Ray’s handles Ambiguous’ daily operations, including warehousing, finance and distribution.
Working on Smooth doesn’t mean Delgadillo has tossed Ambiguous aside. He’s still working there full time, designing.
“Smooth Co. is my afterhours project that I do for creative pleasure,” Delgadillo said.
He handles design and production of Smooth clothing, while Stade focuses on sales and the brand direction.
The line targets young adults who are looking for clothing that is more fashionable and higher quality than a typical surf line, Stade said.
“It’s an aristocratic surf line,” said Stade, who declined to provide first-year revenue projections.
Other Orange County surf brands are selling fashion-driven clothing at higher prices. Aqua VI of Costa Mesa has seen its $45 T-shirts and $80 board shorts fly off shelves at stores such as Nordstrom and Metropark, said founder Lian Murray. Murray was partner and creative director at Nike Inc.’s Hurley International in Costa Mesa until 2003.
There is a segment of shoppers who “are more fashion conscious and ready to pay for it,” Murray said. “That hard-core surf kid has grown up,they are going to college, they are intellectual. They want a nicer T-shirt they can wear to work.”
Big sales of high-priced denim about four years ago started the luxury trend in what’s known as the lifestyle apparel segment, said Andy Tompkins, show director for action sports trade show ASR in San Juan Capistrano. ASR is a division of Nielsen Expositions in Chantilly, Va.
“That showed people are willing to pay much higher prices for jeans than we had typically seen before,” he said. “There are people out there who want higher-end goods, something that is unique and different.”
Selling Smooth garb to store owners has been a different experience for Stade. Usually, he’s the one saying “yes” or “no” to a new brand that wants to be in his stores. Now, he’s the one with the garment bag over his shoulder trying to make a sale.
“I was rejected on my first sales call,” Stade said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is how people feel when they leave my store.’ It was very humbling.”
After landing in the top boutiques this fall, Smooth had enough traction to hire a sales representative, Stade said. Smooth’s eight workers now are preparing a global campaign for the fall 2008 line.
In November, Stade plans to move Smooth’s and The Closet’s headquarters to a 10,000-square-foot building on the corner of Newport Boulevard and 18th Street in Costa Mesa. The Closet store at Triangle Square will close and move to the new space, which will include a cafe and art gallery, Stade said.
