California Apparel News

Pick up the current issue of DJ culture magazine URB and you’ll find an ad for Exothermic, one of the latest in a long line of finger-on-the-pulse fashion brands from John Bernard. Bernard is probably best known for founding clothing brands Spot Sport, 26 Red, Sugar and Suburban, as well as Sugar shoes, 26 Redtic watches, and new lines 5 Crown and the aforementioned Exothermic. He has consistently shown a knack for spotting trends and turning his visions and concepts into successful brands that incorporate elements of his lifestyle and musical tastes. Along the way, Bernard has developed a unique feel for and expertise regarding the licensing of his brands, experiencing the kind of success and track record most designers can only dream of. His ability to create the right licensing partnerships has not only ensured his longevity but has also allowed him to act quickly to address emerging trends.

Bernard has launched 12 brands in just under 15 years. He recently sold the U.S. rights to 26 Red, Sugar and Suburban to the labels’ former licensees. Irvine, Calif.-based R&S Trading now owns 26 Red and Sugar, and Irvine-based Nzania owns Suburban. He has retained the Australian rights to both 26 Red and Suburban, each of which generates $5 million in annual sales. Bernard, one would think, would finally be ready to, in his words, “just chill” and bask in his fashion spoils. But after taking a peek into the story of John Bernard, it’s easy to see that Bernard does not expect to stop there.

The Orange County-based Bernard founded Spot Sport in 1986, which catered to a beach-volleyball scene about to explode but also had a fashion-forward twist that set it apart from the big companies and other up-and-comers.

When the beach-volleyball apparel scene began to fade in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Bernard began the next of several brand evolutions.

“I saw this whole niche coming out, the whole club scene evolving, big logos, etcetera,” Bernard recalls. “I needed to develop a new name and a whole new angle and all-new marketing approach in that niche of the market.” Bernard surrounded himself with the right people who were living the club scene, and with some luck and 16-hour workdays, developed a young men’s sportswear line, 26 Red. It was with 26 Red that Bernard discovered licensing was the way to go for his company.

Bernard had been involved in sales, marketing, production, design and distribution with Spot Sport, but with the licensing of 26 Red he could instead focus on what he describes as the most enjoyable and important aspects of building a brand—design and marketing. “I gained a lot from my mistakes with Spot. By the time I entered 26 Red I was more educated and knowledgeable about what it takes to be successful in the fashion industry,” he says.

Bernard then transitioned into the purely licensed Suburban line (young men’s and juniors), which Bernard describes as “a brand that was a cool, hip brand but that also came with really good pricing that allowed the retailer to gain margin. It was just as good as the Quiksilvers and Stussys of the world—it wasn’t crap. We were doing plaid shirts for half the price.” For Suburban, Bernard credits smart overseas direct sourcing with being able to cut out the middleman. Urban Outfitters is Suburban’s best account.

In his licensing arrangements Bernard provides the design, creative and marketing input while sales and production are handled entirely by his licensees. City of Industry, Calif.-based Everite holds the license for Exothermic.

“I think anytime you license a company, you’re going to lose a sense of control,” says Bernard. “I try to write my agreements so I have as much control as possible. In most of my agreements I have total design control. It really is a marriage, a total relationship, and it’s hard to get a divorce. My advice would be this: Be really sure you’re not getting involved with anybody shifty.”

Young men’s and junior brand Exothermic launched six months ago and is designed to be a cleaner urban collection, according to Bernard, who describes it as “not like a FUBU, but a cross between Triple Five Soul, Ecko and maybe Stussy.”

Bernard says his ultimate goal is to bring Exothermic into the same retail world as Levi’s Engineered, a lower-priced Diesel and Ecko. He refers to Ecko founder Mark Ecko as “a genius” and as a big influence on the entire industry.

The Exothermic collection includes about 80 pieces, primarily sportswear, T-shirts and accessories. The collection, which is sold nationwide in specialty boutiques, is wholesale-priced from $15 to $30 for the young men’s line and $13 to $28 for the junior line. The company has also launched a Web site [www.exothermic15.com] to allow consumers to preview the line. The company does not currently plan to add an e-commerce component to the site.

But that’s not all Bernard has to offer. Last May, he launched a small collection of T-shirts for young men and juniors under the 5 Crown label. The line, which features graphics based on destinations, philosophies and astrology signs, is sold in better specialty stores and chains nationwide.

By launching Exothermic and 5 Crown, Bernard is attempting to once again find success in an industry known for being one in which it is difficult to pinpoint where the next trend will emerge. Bernard, by his own account, has been extremely lucky, but he says he has also learned a few golden rules of the industry.

“Knowing the right time to start a brand and confirming there is a niche for what you are trying to do [are both important],” he says. “Secondly, I also think surrounding yourself with the right people is critical. I couldn’t do it myself. And thirdly, traveling, especially to Tokyo and London, is the best way to keep in touch and get yourself inspired.”

Bernard says he also strives to blend both East Coast and West Coast style in his collections in an effort to avoid being “pigeonholed as one or the other.”

Room Service, Hotels and Morehellip;

At first glance, John Bernard’s decision to open two home-furnishing stores seems like a dramatic departure from his roots as the founder of young men’s and juniors’ skate-influenced collections Suburban and 26 Red. But his collection of home furnishings, sold only through his two Room Service stores, carries the same modern, clean look of his clothing line and serves as another step in defining the lifestyle of the John Bernard customer.

“I’ve been doing clothing for so damn long that it’s really a refreshing step into a new venture that isn’t about a piece of thread putting a garment together,” says Bernard. He first got the home-furnishings bug after attending an International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), where he noticed a culture and a lifestyle very similar to those in fashion. Bernard designs most of the furniture and also offers licensed reproductions of works by designers including George Nelson, Naguchi and Eames. Busta Rhymes, Sandra Bullock and Patricia Arquette have already been spotted fawning over Room Service’s collection of mid-century furnishings. The Room Service tagline, “home furnishings for your soul,” nicely sums up Bernard’s Zen approach to architecture, lifestyle and design.

Is John Bernard destined to be the Martha Stewart for people who know “what’s up”?

“My downside is that I love constantly creating new things. I take on more than I should,” he says. “The next thing I want to do is a small, 20-room, really hip hotel. But I’m also planning another clothing line, maybe with Latin jazz elements, a series on Cuba, Jamaica, Brazilhellip;.”

Immediately next on the agenda, however, are plans to open a restaurant called Fire across from the Lab “anti-mall” in Costa Mesa, Calif. in early spring 2002.