The clothing line is only two years old. But Aqua VI of Costa Mesa is getting some serious play at Nordstrom.
I called Lian Murray yesterday and caught up on how the premium surf brand is doing.
Lian Murray
Lian is famous in the surf industry. She was a partner and creative director at Hurley International when that brand launched in 1999. The designs were revolutionary at the time – low rise jeans, rhinestones on T-Shirts. The success of Hurley pushed the entire industry to become more fashion driven.
When Nike bought Hurley in 2002, Lian’s bank account grew significantly. She left Hurley a year later and retired for awhile – she doesn’t need to work anymore – but started Aqua VI because she saw a niche in the market for an upscale surf brand.
Lian and partner Ziggy Williams are growing slowly. They want to keep the pace sane. Currently, their clothing is sold in stores such as Metropark, The Closet and American Rag. Nordstom is their biggest customer, and Bloomingdale’s is reviewing their line for Spring ’08.
Lian is quite happy with how the clothes are selling at Nordstrom. Nordstrom carries Aqua VI nationwide in men and boys and just tested women’s T-shirts. Nordstrom will feature Aqua VI as one of its hottest new brands in its holiday catalog and on its Web site.
“Business is phenomenal,” she said. Lian also loves running the business end of the company, which now has eight employees, in addition to working on product.
“It’s really different and I love that part,” she said. “We’re meeting projected sales and hitting all our goals.”
Courtesy Aqua VI
The company’s Web site is nicely done and worth checking out.
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