Isaora + Meyerhoffer
Two innovation-obsessed designers create a collection of detail-oriented surf gear
Known for striking a balance between high-tech materials and minimal, modest design in what seems to be the most aesthetically pleasing way possible, NYC’s Isaora has been on our radar for a few years now. Recently, their keen eye for like-minded designers drew Isaora to renowned designer Thomas Meyerhoffer. If the Meyerhoffer name doesn’t ring a bell, the companies he’s worked with during his storied career sure will—Apple, IDEO, Puma and Porsche. For this collaboration, Isaora tapped into Meyehoffer’s passion and talent for innovation in surfboard design to create a sizable collection of technical boardshorts, t-shirts, tanktops, aprés-surf gear and a co-branded surfboard.
“What Thomas is doing to surfboards is very attuned with everything we do at Isaora,” explains Marc Daniels, Isaora’s founder. “We both like to look forward, embrace technology and refuse to believe that aesthetics and function are mutually exclusive.” This idea of blending look, feel and function clearly comes together in the collection, which is heavy on color blocking, performance-specific materials and clean silhouettes.
While each piece seems straightforward, little tweaks hint toward their intended use. Take the crew sweatshirt and dryskin sweatpants, for example. Both made in NYC from Japanese loopback cotton, the sweatshirt features Swiss-made Schoeller dryskin paneling along and under the right arm and waist to act as a shield while carrying your board back to the parking lot after a surf session. The sweatpants feature the same material paneled on the rear to keep your rump dry and warm while perched on the beach, watching your buddies take in the final sets of the day. Simple details like this show Daniels’ and Mayerhoffer’s ability to innovate without straying from their original intention—to make simple surf gear perform better. No one has done after-surf loungewear like this before, but it makes perfect sense to anyone whose ever tried their hand at the activity.
In the surf community, Meyerhoffer is best known for his innovative board designs, often harking back to the classic pintail shapes that dominated the scene in the ’70s, so it was only natural to include one in this collection. The single fin 6′ 6″ Slip In rides loose like old school pintails, but relies heavily on the negative side cut to enable a tighter turning radius during cutbacks and vertical snaps. It’s a board meant for “turn-based performance surfing.” Each all-black Slip In is made to order in Santa Cruz, California to keep quality high and quantity low.
Each piece in the comprehensive collection is made with surf in mind—by a group of guys who actually get out in the water for regular sessions. Although Daniels is quick to admit, he surfs, “though not as well as Thomas.” Visit Isaora online for a more details on the Isaora + Meyerhoffer collaboration.
Images courtesy of Isaora. For a closer look at the collection see the slideshow.
