Framegrabs & video: Adrian Rodd / Words: Alexei Obolensky
The main problem with Surf and Fashion is that the terms are completely contradictory. And do not sit together on the same lookbook, runway or indeed sentence. Yet once in a while, a star is born.
Once in a blue moon the elements align, this rare collision of the worlds of Surf and Fashun usually ends in disaster but sometimes produces moments of genius. TCSS. Saturdays NYC. Banks. Epøkhe. Surf meets fashion and the lovechild is sublime and the cut? — Suits you Sir. There is a Hermes shop above the Grande Plage in Biarritz and how I gaze lustfully through it’s windows calculating the % equity I would have to release in the good ship Wasted Talent to be able to afford a fawn wool overcoat with silk lining (deep navy) and silk neck tie to accompany. I would check the Grande Plage dressed to kill, with no job and no money. But that is of little consequence — no one has ever been miserable clad in Hermès.
I digress. Which brings us to Mr Criere. Yes this may have come out a month ago and sorry we are late to the party but can we stay for a drink? The short film above shot by Adrian Rodd may be oh so slightly long winded and the link with the child is somewhat tenious. However the surfing dazzles! Yet of more importance is Mr Criere’s dress sense. That Roll Neck! A subtle yet powerful statement piece which is notorious hard to pull off but my god he does it well! The well rounded ribbed fit of the cream jumper and the selection of overcoats sported by our darling Basque protagonist is beyond divine and would shine on the streets of Milan let alone Mundaka. Surfing has suffered too long at the hands of brands which shall remain nameless but oh my do the catalogues enduce vomit. Mr A. Criere is a messiah, a visionary. Years ahead of his time sadly stuck in a gilded cage of an industry which can’t and won’t appreciate a good Overcoat’s cut across the shoulders.
However this metrosexual rant of mine shouldn’t go unheeded. Mr A. Criere has flown under the radar for too long! I’m led to believe he is fluent in both French and Spanish, hailing from the border town of Hendaye. This video is a showcase of the highest echelon, with fashion and surfing producing a new Basque superstar. My only hope is that one day we can be friends — you’ll find us checking the mid bank banks at Grande Plage, sipping expressos and comparing our immaculately cut Hermès overcoats but they could be Burberry depending on season, collars up to the wind, the hours running down the Patek Phillipe without a care in the world.
