Catching Up With: O’Neill’s Kari Johnson, Amy Struck And Shelley Shephard On Generation Next

kailee bradstreet

• October 26 2009
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The La Jolla Group headquarters in Irvine, California, was buzzing with excitement Friday, October 23, as eight teenage girls invaded the company’s conference room for a pizza party and shopping spree with O’Neill - a celebration that wrapped up the brand’s second annual Generation Next contest. Sophomore Angela Urmanita, 15, of Fullerton’s Rosary High School was the lucky contest winner, and on Friday she was presented a $4,000 scholarship check in front of a small group of her peers and O’Neill’s design and marketing team.

Urmanita, who will start a three-month internship program with the brand in December, headed up the winning group of students from her school, and worked alongside the design and marketing teams at O’Neill for six months to craft a dress and handbag that would fit with the brand’s look. Urmanita and eight of her friends who helped with the project - from backstage production to modeling her designs at the fashion show - got a chance to pick out twelve different pieces from the Holiday ‘09 Juniors line on Friday, courtesy of O’Neill.

“I  learned how to take my designs and then make it something that O’Neill can, and how to incorporate my ideas and work with others,” says Urmanita of the experience, adding that the contest inspired her to pursue degrees in business and fashion design. “It’s funny, because at the beginning of this year I had no idea what I wanted to do, and then it just all clicked.”

Four other student finalists from high schools in Orange and Los Angeles Counties also went through the step-by-step process of designing their own products. The finished pieces went down a runway last month during a high-energy fashion show sponsored by Teen Vogue and held at Club Seven Degrees in Laguna Beach, California. Urmanita’s dress and handbag will also be featured in the pages of an upcoming issue of Teen Vogue.

O’Neill Juniors Vice President of Design Kari Johnson, Art Director Amy Struck and Marketing Director Shelley Shephard talked with TransWorld Business Friday about the event’s impact on the brand, how they see it shaping their target audience’s perspective, and how it influences next season’s fashions.

How did the contest get started?

Kari Johnson: Well it’s a partnership with Teen Vogue and O’Neill and the whole idea behind it is to really mentor and aid that high school girl that wants to come into design and marketing, and really try to steer them in the right direction and help them figure out if its even what they want to do. So essentially it’s our way of giving back to our future - hopefully - employee, in a way.

And then also it’s good for us to work side by side with our target consumer…

Amy Struck: It’s good for us to get feedback and pick their brains on where they shop and what they like and what they are into, and see if we are doing a good job.

Do any of the core retailers get involved in the program?

KJ: It’s really a consumer event. We invite retailers to the fashion show, and the ones that I spoke to at the event were really impressed. But it’s really focused on the consumer.

As a brand, how important is this type of event?

AS: It’s kind of a two way thing - it’s great for the designers and it’s great for the girls. I think it’s a great scholarship idea for us - rather than just plunking down some money, but to actually have a contest and work with them. They get an internship and they get to go through all the different departments, so it’s really cool. Like our last year’s winner, I think she wants to go into merchandising now instead of drawing because she found out she likes working with merchandisers.

KJ: It’s really about brand recognition with our consumer. And it’s kind of a big event for us where we get to see the kids - even just the kids who come to the event - as far as getting their feedback…

The winning dress and handbag design by Angela Urmanita

Did you get any new ideas from the girls?

KJ: No, but there were some moments where we were surprised. We’d say, “So what are you guys getting for fall?” And we’d go back and forth, and there were a few times that we were surprised by their answers.

AS: They kind of validate what we’re doing, which is nice to have. They are definitely on the forefront of the fashion trends in their schools, so it’s nice to hear what they are wanting now because it will translate nicely for us. Like Angela, she does her own jewelry line and is very fashion forward, and even sells her designs online on  her own Web site. So even before she started this program she was already this little business person. When we did the pep rallies at her high school girls were wearing her accessories. She’s a little entrepreneur.

But as far as things that surprised us - we asked them what they wanted for back to school this fall and they all wanted skinny jeans and boyfriend blazers and cardigans, which we kind of thought may be were dead, so it was kind of cool that we heard that. And we said “Of course, leggings,” and they all went “No.”

KS: There was definitely a consistency in design. The first year out, there was definitely an interest in low-back dresses. This year, it was a one-shoulder, asymmetrical look, and most of them wanted really short dresses.

Is there anything else that surprised you or struck you as particularly impressive?

AS: We were really impressed with their styling ideas. Even though our stylists helped them, their ideas were really creative and really brought their designs to the next level. Angela’s theme was “MIA Meets Cali Girl” and she had Tahitian dancers that performed. I thought they were creative with their themes.

KJ: They all kind of brought that in the first meeting when they had to do a trend board. They were all pretty much set on their theme and what they wanted to do, they weren’t hesitant, and they didn’t need a ton of guidance.

It’s not like they took a piece of the line and restructured it - they started from scratch and went through what these girls go through every day at work. They had to know everything from computers to coming into an office environment at a young age. We really take them through the whole process. I think the funnest part was when they got to see their dress and handbag for the first time. To go from a drawing and then to wait and actually see it come to life. And we had it as this big unveiling, had them sit in the room and have the model come in carrying the bag and wearing the dress. It definitely brings us back to our early days of design. I remember my first job and seeing my design for the first time, and being like “Really?”

AS: It’s great to get excited again. We do stuff like that every single day but to see them get excited is infectious and you feel reinvigorated about doing your job.

How did you develop the partnership with Teen Vogue?

Shelley Shephard: Teen Vogue has been our partner for the last four years and when we brought this program to them last year they were just really excited about it. It fits well with them and their overall design and fashion aesthetic. They want the girls who are the trend setters and who want to become not just designers, but who love fashion and everything about fashion. They are just really on the cusp for trend setting. They are really involved, coming to all the meetings, helping us pick the girls and organize the event.

We also did live Web casts of the event this year on O’Neill.com, TeenVogue.com and on our Facebook pages. Teen Vogue’s knowledge in the show production side of things, you just can’t beat it, and the girls loved that part, as well. Mary Kate Steinmiller, associate editor for Teen Vogue, was there that night up on stage with Toby Bost to talk about the trends behind the lines and she got to talk to the girls back stage as well. She talked about each of their outfits, what she saw trending and gave them great feedback.

La Jolla Group CEO Toby Bost with contest winner Angela Urmanita

Where does the money for the scholarship program originate?

SS: It all comes from O’Neill, but at the door we actually charge five dollars for the event and all the proceeds go to Boarding 4 Breast Cancer. We raised over $3,200 for B4BC, which was really good because the event also coincided with the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Do you foresee this program growing in the future?

SS:We had a little more than 200 girls apply for it this year, and we had about 200 apply last year. I know next year it’s going to continue, for sure, and it’s definitely going to get a lot bigger. We are going to need a new space if it continues to grow. Another thing was this year, the original prize purse was $2,000 and Toby doubled it the night of the event, so that was extra special. The event was kind of his brainchild a few years ago. He developed Generation Next as a way to give back because essentially these girls are the future of our company. He wants O’Neill to support and grow the kids within our industry.