Bringing It Back To La: The Inspiration Behind Our Men'S Spring Collection

As our spring line hits the site, we want to take you for a quick spin through the desert terrain, native textures, and SoCal landmarks that inspired our design team this season. Our Director of Design, Bethany Mallett, sheds light on the creative process and helps us see the collection in full color. . .

“Think of it as a day trip from LA,” says Bethany of our spring collection. “We pulled a lot inspiration from Malibu, Joshua Tree, and the desert.”

The Outerknown design team spent time at Malibu’s historical Adamson House, a fusion of Spanish Colonial Revival and Moorish Revival architectural styles. The house overlooks the hallowed waters of First Point—and abounds with handcrafted art tile fired from local clay.

Bethany comments on this season's textiles, “I gravitate towards fabrics that are not only good for the environment, but have a soft touch and are easy to care for. Little touches of linen and hemp give texture to the fabric blends.”

“Moorish tile designs made their way into men’s shirting. Palm trees informed prints. Being so close to the beach inspired shell buttons. There’s so much color, texture, and design.”

“Our Blanket Shirt colors were influenced by tiles of the Adamson House in Malibu. The Rindge family created colorful and handmade tiles at their company, Malibu Potteries, from 1926-31. The colors originally used in their tiles are saturated and clean, lending themselves to our graphic plaids and coastal stripes.”

From Malibu we headed east to the desert, which at first glance seems like the antithesis of the beach, but is in fact a kind of kissing cousin. Think expansive vistas. Think sparkling blues and soft earth tones.

“Joshua Tree’s colors and textures and rock formations come through in the collection’s relaxed fabrics and adobes and natural tans and cactus greens.”

“Our Ocotillo Shirt draws its colors from weekend trips out to Joshua Tree and Yucca Valley, and the deep browns, soft whites, and golden tones of the desert landscape.” Bethany adds, “The Stowaway Crew (coming soon!) embodies a California feeling with its soft pigment dye colors. I think these are the perfect weekend layer, and look really smart with a pair of our indigo S.E.A. JEANS.”

"The inspiration for this collection came from Southern California, from the roots and origins of Outerknown." — Bethany Mallett