The history of Quiksilver boardshorts started with an idea around about 50 years ago . They have been at the height of surf fashion and performance ever since. Come with us on an amusing whistle stop tour through the decades.

The ‘70s were simpler times in terms of boardshorts. Most people had one pair and wore them in the sea, on the beach, at home, in the pub, at work, swimming, surfing, drinking, sleeping… In some cases boardies had to be surgically removed from groms who put them on at the start of summer holidays and forced into normal clothes at the end of them.

Revolutionary, back then, meant a waistband that fit right and a scallop design to prevent them from getting hung up on your thighs every time you did a turn.

So, there you go. Boardshorts in the ‘70s. They rode high and they fit tight. They were one color...
well, sometimes two or three.

Boardshorts in the ‘80s took a sharp turn from the modest days of the ‘70s. New styles was born, in terms of both surfing and surf fashion in all its neon glory. A new breed of professional surfers was spawned. Until then, the only people making money were the ones winning contests, marked the first time people could make a career out of getting photos ran in surf magazines. Thus, the “photo pro” was born.

In terms of style, Echo Beach ushered in a new era of boardshorts. Nobody had time for predictability — especially not Danny Kwock - a flashy Newport Beach ripper. He introduced a style of boardshort that defied the very concept of boring. They featured colors bright enough to blind the sun, lengths that avoided the knee like a plague, tight fittings and patterns that were half pop, half art and all in your face. With polka-dot Quiksilver boardies tearing the hell out of small waves on a short polka-dot board he was all over the US mags.

Oh, the ‘90s. When neon died and grunge was born. Cool time, right? Maybe not.

Sometimes being yourself and owning it meant growing your hair long and getting a tattoo. Sometimes it meant surfing as fast as you could and turning the volume up to 12. Sometimes it meant wearing boardshorts so long you’d forget you had knees. What was that all about?

Indeed, it was not. Out with the below-the-knee, loud and lucid prints of the ‘90s. In with the more refined aesthetic of the 2000s. It was also time to really focus on technology. And why not? We had, after all, survived Y2K. Fashion wise, there was a lot of deja vu.

Boardshorts had finally been around for long enough to start drawing inspiration from the past. You could look back and move forward at the same time! Take, for example, Slater’s Star Trunks. Design wise, those infamous boardies were only slightly different from a pair that 1978 World Champion Rabbit Bartholomew had been digging decades ago — they were simply reinterpreted with modern materials. New or not, they certainly became a piece of Slater’s stardom especial the they feature in "Kelly Slater Black and White.”

Beyond that, most designs were relatively simple. Patterns. Shapes. Stripes. More patterns. There was no time to fuss with creating a generation defining style. This was a new millennium. This was the era of technology.

And so the 2000s spawned some new boardshort fabrics. Stretch became king and Quiksilver came out with Diamond Dobby — a raised inner lining that eliminated rash by exposing you to 30% less
fabric. Welcome to the future. Make yourself comfortable — literally.

Which brings us to now. Boardshorts are no longer just for surfing. They’re for going, doing, eating, drinking, sleeping, living. They’re for anytime, everywhere. And since you’re so busy, you need two things: style and comfort.

So where does it go from here? True to the original vision means mixing style and innovation. It means creating generation defining designs and using materials that are more comfortable than anything you’ve felt before. It means fusing performance with art and art with performance — that’s what this decade is all about.

Everybody is going to keep pushing each other. There’s going to be a lot more progression with materials and construction, and of course they have to look really good.

Fistral Beach / Watergate Bay, Cornwall | Wednesday 8 ^– Sunday 12 August 2018

For the most environmentally-friendly Boardmasters yet, aiming to keep the Cornish coastline cleaner than ever before and keeping it clean for years to come.

• Two huge beach cleans took place last weekend in Cornwall with SAS
• SAS received £20,000 from the Boardmasters Foundation this year for it's tireless work keeping Britain's beaches clean
• Plans to reduce on site single-use plastics to levels close to zero
• Litter bond on 40,000 camping tickets to help reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste generated by the festival
• Ensure Boardmasters continues to be an event which works in harmony with the local community and local environment

Boardmasters surf and music festival in Cornwall has today revealed its sustainability plans for 2018. Taking place from 8-12 August across two stunning locations at Watergate Bay and Fistral Beach in Cornwall, Boardmasters festival organisers will continue their tremendous work to protect the local environment, implementing a robust, newly-developed strategy to ensure the cleanest, most environmentally-friendly and thoroughly enjoyable festival to date.

This August, 50,000 festival goers will head to Boardmasters for five days of world-class music, with headline sets from Catfish and the Bottlemen, The Chemical Brothers and George Ezra, and exhilarating surf action, soaking up everything that Cornwall has to offer. Boardmasters’ mission this year is to deliver a fun-filled festival, packed with exciting content and the biggest names in surf and music, while at the same time building on its existing mission to reduce its impact on the environment, and improve overall sustainability across both sites.

Last weekend, Boardmasters hosted two major beach cleans with charity partner Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), as part of the ‘Big Spring Beach Clean’ campaign. On Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 April, Boardmasters and SAS joined forces on Fistral Beach and Watergate Bay. Teams from Boardmasters, SAS and the general public worked together to clear plastic and general waste, cleaning up both beautiful beaches. 200 kilos of marine litter were collected by hundreds of volunteers over the weekend. On Fistral Beach on Saturday alone, 57kg of plastic pollution was cleared, 40% of this was avoidable plastics. Plastic Free Newquay will now begin work with 300 students from Tretherras School as part of Newquay's Art8 Festival to create an art installation to raise awareness of marine litter.

For almost 20 years, Boardmasters and SAS have worked side-by-side to develop and implement environmental strategies for the festival and surrounding area and in 2017, SAS was the largest beneficiary of the new Boardmasters Foundation, receiving £20,000 to support their invaluable work to protect Britain’s beaches. It has just been announced that SAS has been selected by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as one charity to benefit from their wedding gift money.

Boardmasters will continue its work with Cornwall’s ‘Final Straw’ initiative, with no plastic straws available on site – this was first implemented on site in 2015 with great success. Its existing ‘litter bond’ which incentivizes all 40,000 camping customers to pick up their litter and recycle, and the car parking re-entry fee to discourage traffic on the roads surrounding the festival will continue for 2018, whilst Boardmasters ‘Green Team’ will increase in size to further educate festivalgoers on Boardmasters sustainability initiatives and how they can help.

Behind the scenes, Boardmasters festival organisers will be reviewing its inventory and working out which items or materials brought onto site can be cut or replaced with a more efficient or sustainable alternative. Suppliers and traders are encouraged to do the same. There will also be a focus on creating long term sustainable signage and branding, and continuing to use proper plates, cutlery and cups in artist and crew catering rather than plastic alternatives.

Inspired by the freedom, adventure and creativity of surfing and music, Boardmasters was born in 1981. Expect parties that run late into the night and a beautiful beach to recuperate on during the day. The 5-day event is situated across two stunning locations in Cornwall – the surfing mecca of the UK, Fistral Beach, where world class International Surf Competitions take place, and arguably the most stunning location in the country to watch live music, Watergate Bay. Last year the surf and music festival welcomed over 150,000 festival goers to sunny Cornwall. Book your tickets here.