COUCH SURFING: When 11-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater embarked on creating an eco-friendly home collection for PBteen, he didn’t realize that it also had to be pet-friendly. On Thursday night, at the launch party for his collaboration at the World Surf League’s headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif., Jiff, the social media-savvy Pomeranian, plopped its puffball of a body on a gray couch next to Slater and actress Victoria Justice for a round of photos.
Slater can’t blame the pooch, which actually has 100,000 more Instagram followers than he does. The surfer-turned-sustainable style specialist is waiting for the $1,800 couch to arrive at his house on Australia’s Gold Coast. He liked the collection’s beanbag that is made with recycled cotton upholstery and foam recycled from the auto industry so much that he took it to the beach. “I took one of those things out surfing and actually rode it on a surfboard,” he said. “It’s kind of funny. I love that thing. I lounge on it in front of my TV and fall asleep.”
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Guests at the party — including designer Heidi Merrick, members of pop band New Beat Fund and actors Daphne Blunt, Brandon Tyler Russell and Olivia Stuck — weren’t encouraged to crash on the beds that were on display. But Slater wanted to spread the word on sustainable style. In addition to the tie-up with PBteen, he’s also readying for the launch at retail of his Kering-backed fashion brand Outerknown. “All brands should focus on sustainability because it makes it easier for other brands to be able do that, to follow in their footsteps,” he said. “It also makes it easier for consumers to make their choices.”
Sustainable or not, the décor’s airy, beachy vibe appealed to Justice, who could have used it to accent the high school-themed movies that she is doing this year. In “The Outskirts,” she portrays a band geek who likes to pair bowler hats with suspendered pants. In “Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List,” a modern coming-of-age story, she plays a girl who is in love with her gay best friend.
“Turquoise is my favorite color,” she said. “It makes me happy to see it all over the line.”