Teens on the catwalk

Would-be junior fashionistas converged in droves on an industrial section of Costa Mesa last week. But they weren’t there for a sample sale.

The teenage students were invited by apparel company Hurley to compete in “Walk the Walk,” a contest in which teams from three high schools created their own five-minute fashion shows using Hurley apparel at the company’s headquarters.

“Hurley’s about giving kids a voice ? not just telling them what to wear,” said Julie Leffler, the company’s marketing and publicity manager. “We’re letting them be who they want to be.”

Several high schools along the coast of Orange County were invited to participate, but only Newport Harbor, Laguna Beach and Dana Hills responded.

“A lot of times, kids are caught off-guard and are afraid of how people will perceive them,” said Ryan Sirianni, who works in retail marketing and acted as the liaison between the schools and Hurley.

He hopes that after the other schools hear about this year’s event, they’ll be eager to participate in the future.

“We thought it was really important to give kids an opportunity for school spirit and competitiveness outside of a football game,” Sirianni said.

“After this year, we hope to have one event per quarter,” Leffler said.

Each would focus on a different core Hurley concept, like music, art, surf/skate or fashion.

“It gets us closer to the kids and gets them energized. We love energy; we need more of it,” said former Hurley President Roger Wyett, who is now vice president of Nike’s global apparel business.

He continues to work from Hurley’s offices. Hurley was acquired by Nike in 2002.

“This is our demographic, so we want to make sure they’re heard,” Leffler said. “We’re friends with these kids now.”

Hurley is known for paying a lot of attention to its market segment. Their “spokesmodel and muse,” Rosie, is heavily involved in the design process.

“They design for her,” Leffler said. “Sometimes she just says, ‘I wouldn’t wear that.’ ”

Each school’s team visited Hurley on a different day to tour the campus, meet the staff, view commercials and preview the upcoming clothing lines.

“It’s a lot more than just a fashion show,” Leffler said. “It’s good for them to get an idea of what our industry is like.”

Students arrived at the facility hours before the show to prepare, teasing hair, adding glitter and painting appendages.

“We just wanted to give them an event where they can express their creativity,” said Lyndsey Roach, a marketing director.

In addition to receiving the same samples of from Hurley’s fall 2006 collections, each school was given promotional materials and $200 to purchase accessories such as shoes, makeup and jewelry.

More than 600 were in attendance by the time the show started. Judges included Hurley founder Bob Hurley; Senior Vice President Paul Gomez; spokesmodel Rosie; surfer and team rider Brett Simpson; celebrity stylist Deda Coben; model Gaby Hurst; and skateboarder and team rider Kris Markovich.

“It’s natural to have additional roles here at Hurley,” said King, who does marketing for the brand. “They just pointed at me and said, ‘You’re doing it.’”

Musicians DJ Pubes and drummer Bobby Alt amped up the crowd, with a little help from Dana Hills’ dolphin mascot.

Laguna Beach went on stage first, to a strong beat. Two models started the show with confetti popper tubes; they were followed by others carrying sand pails of glitter.

The students strutted in high heels, straw hats and bikinis; one male model danced on the judge’s table.

The show concluded with Principal Nancy Blade strolling down the catwalk as the students’ special guest, as is customary in professional runway shows.

Laguna Beach was followed by Newport Harbor, which did a yearbook-style theme. The students came out to signs like “Most Spirited,” “Cutest Couple” or “Most Likely to Marry Rich,” and they made heavy use of props.

Next, Dana Hills’ drumline came onto the scene. After the percussionists took a turn, the models burst through a paper banner, as if they were stars at a football game.

Their routine, “Believe in ? ,” incorporated bubbles and a dog on a leash. The models had words like “beauty” and “joy” stenciled onto their arms, legs and abdomens.

The show concluded a final drum routine, to raucous cheering and applause from Dana Hills’ section. dpt.11-hurley-CPhotoInfo8D1RRVQI20060611j0invfncDON LEACH / DAILY PILOT(LA)Laguna Beach High School’s Julianna Cano, left, and Ashley Trombley spice up the end of the runway at Hurley headquarters.