Kelly Slater builds exec team to launch Outerknown

World champion surfer Kelly Slater announced back in September that his contemporary ready-to-wear line would be called ‘Outerknown’ and now the athlete is revealing the executive fashion team that will be helping him take the clothing brand forward, all of whom were “hand-selected” as they personify “style, sustainability and travel”, the brand’s core values.

They include Julie Gilhart, a fashion consultant and former Barney’s New York fashion director, who has been with the Outerknown since its inception has been named as an executive board member. In addition, Gilhart will also be mentoring the designers through the creative process with a strategic advisory role on developing the voice of the brand, and contributing to areas like design, sales, production and communications.

Additional appointments include Stella Ishii as sales director for Americas and Japan, who has successfully launched brands like Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim 3.1 and The Row into the marketplace along with her showroom The News, and to ensure that the brand remains true to its desire for sustainable clothing, Shelly Gottschamer has been brought on board as director of supply chain and sustainability. Gottschamer joins from Patagonia where she has spent the past five years as sportswear sourcing manager overseeing the line's environmentally conscious supply chain.

Outerknown names executive fashion team to push brand forward

"Stella, Julie and Shelly have each been appointed to their unique roles at Outerknown based on their seasoned history collaborating with great design talent, their innate understanding of the buyers, and their now-long-time commitment to spearheading sustainable practices in the fashion industry," said Slater. "My team and I couldn't be more excited by such a powerful pool of talent coming on board."

Commenting on her new role, Gilhart added: "I feel there is a need to truly experience the world through clothes that are not just beautiful or handsome but made with the intention to have less impact on the earth. I want to get behind brands that have this value and Kelly Slater inspires this kind of style and thought. I feel sure this is the future."

Gilhart, Ishii, and Gottschamer join John Moore, current GQ Best New Menswear Designer, who was named as the creative director to co-helm the label alongside Slater in September. Moore, who is also the co-owner of lifestyle men's wear label M.Nii, was chosen as he has previously worked with Slater in the past during his tenure at Quiksilver.

With regards to the direction Slater and Moore will take the label, they stated that it would bring together surfwear, designer and technical, and address the void in the marketplace between sports and luxury, which is being helped with the support of French conglomerate Kering, who have invested in the development of the RTW label and will act as an operational partner assisting the brand with sourcing, logistics and e-commerce.

In a recent interview with Business of Fashion, Slater and Moore revealed that the Outerknown menswear collection launching for autumn 2015 would consist of “wardrobe essentials” such as T-shirts, shirts, knits, jackets and chinos, while the womenswear line, which will debut for resort 2015, would be more aligned with “high fashion trends”.

“With women we are exploring many more categories, more of an emphasis on style and being relevant to what’s happening in fashion, whereas with men it’s extremely timeless,” Moore told BoF.

Details of Outerknown’s stockists have yet to be announced, although the brand is expected to launch its own e-commerce as well as target high-end retailers such as Selfridges, Barneys and Net-a-Porter.