STILL GNARLY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS
In 1985, White Stuff founders George and Sean began their regular treks to the French Alps in a Citroen 2CV loaded with their 'Boys from the White Stuff' t-shirts. A decade later, with their ski and surf lifestyle fashion business expanded into shops and mail order, the pair brought the same freewheeling approach to fashion shoots. Using friends and folk they met as models, they would road trip round Europe, America and South Africa, documenting their adventures and capturing street style-type photographs to help create the unique White Stuff catalogues.
To celebrate White Stuff's 40th birthday, and show off our new Rewind ‘85 line of archive White Stuff sweats and tees, we wanted to embrace some of that DIY wandering spirit and go back where it all began. Then, when our finance director told us there wasn't budget for that, we did the next best thing. Piled in a 1993 VW California camper van (called Daisy) and drove pretty much the length of the UK in search of surf and snow (tees, half-zips and fake Alpine and ocean backdrops in tow, just in case).
Turns out, there's not a lot of snow in the UK in October. Even up in Glenshee, a resort in Scotland's Cairngorm National Park that’s been serving skiers for nearly a century. Still, what it lacked in fresh powder to shred, it made up for in freezing winds, rugged beauty and slightly terrifying ski lifts.
Back in the day we made clothes for surfers. And people who maybe stood around watching other people surf. Now, because we've turned 40, we've brought back some of those surf lifestyle threads. And travelled to Britain's surf capital, Newquay, to shoot them. We even found some real life surfers to try them on. (So we could stand around and watch).
HEROES IN A HALF-ZIP
Heroes. We don't use the term lightly. But we did just drive 1500 miles from London to Cornwall to the Highlands of Scotland, and back. In a 30 year old camper. Only stopping for fuel, snacks and goes on the service station claw machine.
BIG IN THE EIGHTIES
And with people in their eighties. Like John. Who we met while shooting our Rewind line up in Glenshee, Scotland. John's a bit of a legend. He still skis regularly. And he looks great in our rebooted "Boys from the White Stuff" half-zip. Nice one John. Read more about John, his daughter Sophie, and their ski touring friends below. And also meet Cornish surf group Women + Waves, who road (sand) tested our Rewind gear down in Newquay.
