Ok, so it’s commonplace for action-wear companies to look outside their sporting spheres for design inspiration – in fact it’s downright expected that wild and unique artistic creations adorn products like skate decks, snowboards, and shoes. But while every man and his dog is running an “artist project” to keep fresh creative blood contributing to the board sport scene, here’s a case of three companies coming together to pump out a few snowboarding goodies with a distinctive twist.
Forum Snowboards and Special Blend Outerwear are set to unleash the results of a partnership L-R-G Clothing. While it may seem an unlikely collaboration - L-R-G is urban-influenced lifestyle brand immersed in the rap and R&B scene that kits out recording artists like Kayne West while Forum and Special Blend are core boarding staples - all parties seem excited about the collaboration, which has yielded a striking limited-edition run of products for the 2006/07 northern hemisphere winter season, including a co-branded Forum/L-R-G snowboard and co-branded Special Blend/L-R-G outerwear.
“Forum and Special Blend continually bring fresh ideas to the snowboarding world, and many of their team riders embrace the hip-hop lifestyle our brand is rooted in,” said L-R-G Marketing Director Albert Rosario. “The resulting pieces from this collaborative effort show that both Forum and Special Blend follow the same set of high standards for design and production that L-R-G does. This project is a perfect fit for L-R-G, and we are thrilled with how the products turned out.”
Built around the chassis of Forum’s popular Destroyer freestyle board, only 150 of the co-branded Forum/L-R-G Destroyer 156 models (MSRP: $700 USD) will be available beginning Fall 2006. This limited edition board showcases Forum’s premium craftsmanship combined with L-R-G’s distinctive design aesthetic; the board’s inventive graphics feature L-R-G’s signature Rasta colour scheme with a faux diamond inlay embedded in the top-sheet.
For outerwear, Special Blend and L-R-G worked hand-in-hand (note: that’s just figuratively speaking or else productivity would’ve stalled as everyone stood around holding hands…) to produce the co-branded Packer Jacket (MSRP: $300 USD) and Toofer Pant (MSRP: $250 USD). Both styles employ Special Blend’s Freedom Fit and come with removable inner-liners that double as a track jacket or pant. The all-over pattern on the outerwear and liners is an exclusive Special Blend/L-R-G snow camo print which mirrors design from the co-branded Forum/L-R-G snowboard to create a complete head-to-toe package. Only 1,000 pieces of outerwear will be available worldwide in Fall 2006.
“This is the first time Forum and Special Blend have teamed up with a lifestyle brand to offer co-branded products,” said Forum/Special Blend Softgoods Category Manager Robert Meyers. “This partnership is extremely beneficial to all three brands as it enables us to gain access to new customers who might not necessarily be in our regular markets. L-R-G’s urban consumer can take a closer look at snowboarding, and vice versa. It is definitely a win-win situation for all involved.”