RVCA X AAA: Behind The Scenes
How the two like-minded entrepreneurs & founders are pursuing their mission to inspire a supportive community of action sports advocates
There is much more to this collaboration than what meets the eye. Sure, the collection looks rad, but beyond the Tees, the Long-Sleeves, and the Jackets, lies a much deeper meaning to it.
In this story, you will find out how the collab started and where it’s heading.
The Beginning
To build a successful brand, there is one driving factor that you just have to have, and that is passion. That is exactly what both founders have in common.
Adam Bonvin, Alaïa’s founder, comes from the Swiss Alps and has been surrounded since a young age by snowy tracks, concrete ramps, and lake waves. But that wasn’t enough for him.
The Californian dream of practicing all board sports in just one day has always been on his mind, until one day, he took the first step to make it happen - and he founded Alaïa. As he states: “we inspire by doing”.
Until this day, Adam leads with passion, driven by human talent and the will to make things happen.
Meanwhile, across the ocean, in Costa Mesa, California, Pat Tenore joined his love for design, skating/surf, and martial arts, and founded RVCA back in 2001, along with his partner at the time.
The internationally known label was able to create a strong community over the years by maintaining a close connection to local communities. Pat strongly believes that dreams do come true if positivity and integrity are present.
The connecting link, or person, in this case, was Takuji Masuda, a creative mind and surf/skate passionate who loves to bring like-minded people together (the team had the chance to meet with him in California – read the full interview in The California Issue).
Traveling between Switzerland and Malibu, Takuji knew both visionaries and soon noticed a similarity between them – so he decided to introduce them.
From that moment on, the connection was undeniable. A perfect match had taken place.
The Collection
To represent the instant bond, the designers collaborated to create key clothing items that would serve both brands’ purposes.
If on one side, there’s a strong component of artists, surfers, skaters, and martial arts, the other side completes the circle with surf, skate, ski, snowboard, and water sports.
It is the complement of two worlds, working towards the same purpose: supporting a like-minded community of action sports enthusiasts and artists – basically, passionate people.
The ideal match was visible by the easiness of the logos’ fusion, creating a merged vectorized symbol of this collaboration.
Watch the full video made at Alaïa Bay with the crew here.
Message From the Founders
Sharing valuable knowledge has never been as necessary as today. One can get lost with the number of coaches, tutorials, and “how-to’s” available on the internet.
With experience comes wisdom. Adam is aware of Pat’s mentorship skills and, despite the age difference, they are both committed to similar paths: to build businesses with substance and purpose.
Absorbing the knowledge around him, he follows a piece of advice given from Tony Alva himself: “it’s easy to take, it’s harder to give back”. Adam is now focused on giving back to the board sports community.
From Pat’s side, he continues his quest to inspire future generations by supporting real people. The feeling of belonging in a like-minded community needs to be preserved, as well as values such as integrity and connectivity.
Check out the full collection here.
