December 18, 2019
Billabong has announced their latest collection featuring album artwork from metal band Metallica. The Billabong x Metallica 2019-2020 collection will release in five product deliveries – each designed according to a different album and theme – through March.
The collection’s original Oct. 22 launch date marked the 30th anniversary of Metallica’s self-titled 1991 album also known as ‘The Black Album’.
“For myself, the exhilaration of heavy metal and the exhilaration of riding a wave are one and the same,” says Kirk Hammett, lead guitarist, Metallica. “The new collaboration reflects this incredible feeling.”
Pieces in the Billabong x Metallica 2019-2020 collection will feature artwork from five of Metallica’s most popular albums and include original concept art by artist Pushead. The collection will include t-shirts and long sleeve shirts crafted from 100% combed ring-spun cotton, boardshorts made from recycled plastics, hooded fleece, cotton corduroy jackets and full graphic-print neoprene wetsuits.
It’s not the first time Billabong joined forces with Metallica. In 2007, the surf brand enlisted James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo to create a collection featuring Andy Irons as the hero athlete.
The relationship between Metallica and Andy Irons, who passed away in 2010, will also be celebrated in one of the new Billabong x Metallica 2019-2020 releases. A portion of the proceeds from that collection will help support the Andy Irons Foundation in its youth outreach efforts.
“We’re so excited to draw on Billabong’s long-time relationship with Metallica to celebrate their tremendous impact on surf culture through this premium collection,” adds Evan Slater, vice president global marketing, Billabong. “Combining Metallica’s genre-defining album artwork and Billabong LAB’s forward-thinking apparel and wetsuit designs adds up to something far greater than the sum of all parts. We’re blown away with the results.”
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