Picture
O'neill shorts then...and now.
What happens when the surf industry needs some new ideas? They recycle old ideas and turn the clock back 30 years. Clearly the current generation doesn't remember how awful (or awesome) neon was in the 1980's. There's enough neon on the beach these days to make the Electric Daisy Carnival jealous. Joel Parkinson just won the Oakley Pro in a neon pair of Billabongs, and even Rip Curl has brought back a classic design from the 80's, the Tom Curren Collection

The resurgence of neon proves that those who don't remember the past, are destined to repeat it. While I'm all for peacocking on the beach, I don't need to draw any attention to myself when I'm sitting on a nice peak all by myself with no crowds. So if my DeLorean time machine is correct, in a few years this too shall pass, and grunge will make a comeback shortly thereafter. Then we'll be surfing in dark colored plaids and listening to bands that actually play instruments instead of computers. Now that sounds awesome.
Picture
Billabong from 1980's and 2013. I think they just added 2" in length to the new version.

Comments are closed.