Suddenly, O.C. Leads the Hip Parade

The series is the latest in a string of recent show-biz takes that are putting the county -- once known just for its quiet tracts of stuccoed homes and reliably Republican voters -- in a new light for national audiences. As last year's teen comedy "Orange County" proclaimed: "It's not just a place. It's a state of mind."

Add all that to the success of Anaheim's Angels and Mighty Ducks and the booming surf industry, hit bands like No Doubt and brands like Quiksilver and Orange County's once-bland image is experiencing an unlikely transformation.

It's becoming hip.

USA Today recently anointed it the "new capital of cool." The local convention bureau, seizing a chance to capitalize on the emerging perception, boasts: "It's not your father's or mother's Orange County."

Goodbye, John Wayne. Hola, Gwen Stefani.

But many of Orange County's most plugged-in citizens say the new Hollywood image is no more true than the old. They say Orange County is indeed hip, but in a deeper sense -- and people outside its borders are beginning to notice.

"Culture is not something you can build or buy," said Shaheen Sadeghi, who built the Lab, an eclectic retail center down the street from glossy South Coast Plaza that is considered the "anti-mall" for Orange County's hipsters.

"It's something that has to be seasoned.... In the last 10 years, we've gained respect within the music industry and the fashion industry and the lifestyle industry. I think a lot of the trend-setting, influential people are realizing that, 'Hey, this is a fresh place to tap into.' "

While "The O.C." and its cliched portrayal of tony Newport Beach is the county's latest evidence of celebrity, its hipness has been quietly springing from far more diverse wells: Westminster's booming Little Saigon and Santa Ana's mercado, and a youth and surf culture in Huntington Beach.

Artist lofts are being built in downtown Santa Ana. Construction crews this month broke ground on a 2,000-seat symphony hall in Costa Mesa. Half a dozen new elite resorts lining the coast make up what marketers tout as the "California Riviera."

And a Democrat, Loretta Sanchez, represents part of the county in Congress.

Rhode Island native Josh Schwartz, the 26-year-old creator and executive producer of "The O.C.," chose the setting for the series' confined world based on his experiences attending USC -- where, he said, "Newport Beach kids are bred to attend.

"Doing something in Los Angeles was not as interesting to me," Schwartz said. "In Newport Beach, it's not as formal as Beverly Hills or L.A. Everyone walks around in flip-flops and eats their $60 entrees on paper plates. The whole style and vibe of it is much less formal than in Hollywood or Los Angeles."

The show won't premiere until Aug. 5, but Schwartz is bracing for criticism. Message boards on the show's Web site already are jammed with concerns about how the county will be portrayed. In scenes from the show's pilot, for example, the teenage characters, in the span of a day, venture from a sailboat to a fashion show to a drunken party at a beach house. Almost all of the characters -- even the extras -- are white and beautiful.

"There's plenty of kids that don't behave that way," Schwartz acknowledged. "There's also plenty that do."

But those with a discerning eye will recognize some of the show's attention to detail, using music from Orange County bands and wardrobe from trendy local brands like Quiksilver, Paul Frank, Billabong, Volcom and Hurley.

Indeed, Orange County itself is the show's dominant character. Fox's executive vice president of marketing, Roberta Mell, said the studio has customized promotions to air in 182 cities nationwide to introduce viewers to the area. One commercial states: "Orange County, Calif., is 1,711 miles from Little Rock, Ark. But 'The O.C.' is closer than you think."

The ads picture a guy with a surfboard standing on a beach with a spectacular red sunset as the backdrop: "It's nothing like where you live. And nothing like what you imagine."

"There's something sexy and desirable about living in Southern California and living on the beach," Mell said. "It's something people always aspire to."

Whether "The O.C." transforms Orange County the way "Miami Vice" helped perk up Miami Beach remains to be seen. But it could reinforce the county's vibrant youth culture -- a reputation solidified as surfing continues seeping into mainstream America.

Surf industry sales reached $3.3 billion last year, led by Quiksilver, said Marie Case, a market researcher with Board-Trac, which monitors lifestyles and purchasing habits of young people who skate, surf and snowboard. Quiksilver's revenue grew from $318 million in 1998 to $705 million last year.