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Finisterre | AW12 Matt Smith

You know that song by The Drums? The one that went “I wannaaaa, I wanna go surfiiiin”? Well, that’s what I think every time I read about brands like Finisterre. It’s like I missed the boat (well, surfboard) because I live in the North West not the South West. A couple of teenage holidays to Newquay only gave me enough time to master bodyboarding and despite getting quite good at it, I still managed to make a complete bloody idiot of myself. You can read all about that in the next issue of Proper.

In the meantime you’ll have to make do with these great lookbook shots from the Finisterre Autumn/Winter stuff.

Champion surfer Matt Smith stars in Finisterre’s new AW12 look book, shot off the coast of Cornwall earlier in the year. The images showcase some of the knitwear, shirting and down garments from the worlds only specific cold water surf brand. Everyone associates surfing with bronzed blokes and birds but Finisterre fits with my Northern psyche.

In their own poetic words (as is the way with these Celtic Cornishmen) here’s Matt Smith’s bio –

“Porthgwidden beach in the cold, spring sunshine is a hidden oasis of calm.
There’s a disconnect here. Nestled in the lee of the point, this golden cove rests out of the wind and away from the back street warrens and bustle of St Ives. The waters here have the crystal clarity of childhood. Ripples lap the shore, tiny spinning barrels peel and collapse, a miniature Mundaka for the mind.
This diminutive bay is where Matt Smith was raised, a man at home in huge landscapes, whether among giant roaming waves or the endless rolling horizons of transoceanic voyages. From there it was only a short walk to the open beach of Porthmeor and the line-up that would shape him. “Growing up so close to the boiler side of Porthmeor, with its chance of hollow waves, I guess it was fate that I would like to get barreled,” explains Matt with a smile. And images of Matt getting barreled have become his trademark, his calling card beamed across the globe, back turned against the towering arc, only the bite of the rail and the foil of the fin separating him from the jagged reef below; moments frozen in time, captured by friend and lenseman Mickey Smith. ‘We would hear the stories from the older crew from St. Ives. They’d come back from trips with Mickey and be full of funny, horrible stories.” With Mickey transplanted to the west coast of Ireland, the pull of big waves and hollow reefs soon took hold of Matt. “Hearing about ‘The Leen’ me, Tom Lowe and Tom Greenaway took my old classic car over. We spent the first part of that winter hanging with him. I am the luckiest person to have these people close to me. They are all an inspiration.”

Check out the collection here: http://www.finisterreuk.com

Watch out for their Soho pop up store opening Nov 21st.

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Mark Smith

I had pizza for tea.

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