Cynthia Rowley has partnered with Los Angeles-based surf label Roxy to create a new brand called Cynthia Rowley for Roxy, slated to launch in March 2010 exclusively at Barneys New York in the U.S., Colette in Paris, Roxy stores and in Cynthia Rowley boutiques worldwide. The partnership will initially work as a three-year deal, if it works there is the potential to renew. “The collection includes a mix of 40 pieces of sportswear including shorts, T-shirts and dresses, swimwear and accessories such as a wide neoprene headband, printed scarf, bucket hat, sandals and a weekend-appropriate duffle bag. Other highlights include a neoprene pencil skirt; oversize, double knit hoodie, and leather sandals with giant silk tassels. The collection wholesales from $18 for a printed scarf to $89 for a long-sleeve bodysuit.”

With pieces like Neoprene pencil skirts, oversized hoodies, graphic minidresses, and So-Cal-ready sandals with giant silk tassels, it is a great mix of fashion and function.

“My whole idea for this collection was to take all of the great functionality found in these surf clothes and bring some fashion into the function,” Rowley explained. “But I also did some of the opposite too — brought some of the function into fashion such as with the neoprene ballet flats, which you certainly wouldn’t wear to surf.” “We love the idea of taking a fashion designer’s aesthetic and applying it to what one needs for a fashionable surf lifestyle,” she said. Cynthia Rowley, herself a surfer, understands both the practical needs as well as the stylish ones.