Longchamp Launches Limited-edition Surfboards

Over the course of its 77-year history, Longchamp has become known for its premium leather travel bags and stylish Le Pliage totes. But last week, the Parisian fashion house offered its first-ever surfboards: a limited-edition run produced in collaboration with Shapers Club, the expert workshop based in Marennes on France’s Atlantic coast.

Only 40 boards will exist worldwide, and two were made available in the United States. (In other words: blink and they’ll be gone.)

The surfboard project sits at the center of the brand’s Spring/Summer collection, titled “Catch the Parisian Wave,” which was developed under Sophie Delafontaine, Longchamp’s creative director and the granddaughter of founder Jean Cassegrain. Travel remains the brand’s compass, Delafontaine explains, and this season, she imagined a Longchamp muse “gliding from spring into summer, seduced by the rhythm of the waves and the warmth of the sun on her skin.” The surfboard captures that spirit of escape.

If that description sounds dreamily romantic, the execution was more practical, according to Thomas Cardinal, co-owner of Shapers Club. Longchamp arrived with a clear aesthetic already in place, he says, noting that prototypes had been approved by the brand’s artistic department before the workshop began its process. His role was to translate that vision into something that could actually be ridden.

“We not only had to be visually aligned with Longchamp’s identity, but also ensure the boards were technically legitimate in the water,” Cardinal says. “It was a true collaboration between their creative vision and our shaping expertise.”

Each board is crafted from basswood, a material long favored in high-end surfboard construction. While foam boards dominate the sport, basswood offers more stability, durability, and a tactile quality that speaks to surfing’s early history. “Foam construction is highly efficient and performance-driven,” Cardinal says. “Basswood carries a different philosophy by connecting the board to the roots of surf culture,” making the boards feel less disposable and more as a collectible item.

The finished boards, with their subtly faded hues and brightly colored fins, lean retro without feeling too nostalgic.  You can imagine them being equally at home propped against a cedar-shingled wall in Montauk or carried down to the surf break in Biarritz. Delafontaine is adamant that her boards are meant to be used on the water, even if their detailing elevates them to design-object status.

While 40 boards may seem like an unusually small batch for a global luxury brand, Shapers Club is no stranger to custom, one-off pieces. “After all, rarity creates desire,” Cardinal notes.

That rarity will be particularly noticeable in the United States, where the two boards are now on display at the brand’s flagship stores in New York City. American clients, Delafontaine says, value exclusivity, and the target audience extends beyond surfers to collectors of art, fashion, and experiences.

“We see these surfboards attracting people with a sense of wanderlust, drawn in by the free spirit that surf culture has come to represent,” Delafontaine says. “It will naturally resonate with those who are immersed in a lifestyle devoted to freedom and creativity.”

Longchamp surfboards from $2,875, available at the SoHo and Fifth Avenue flagship stores in New York City.