Vor Stories: The Mirror Design

In the summer of 1999, long before Hager-Vor became what it is today, something small but significant began to take shape. We’d just started out, supporting the Penwith Lifeguards with their own custom gear – a simple beginning, but one that sparked a creative wave we didn’t quite see coming.

As we worked alongside local Cornish artists, our first collection of hand-drawn designs came to life. Among them was a graphic that has since become one of our most recognisable – the Mirror.

Over the years, people have asked us endlessly what exactly the design is.
Is it an alien? A DJ mid-set? A frog? And why on earth is it called “the Mirror”?

The answer is simple.

If you cover half of the design, you’ll see its original form: a surfer, riding in the tube of a breaking wave. That’s where it all began. But when the artwork was mirrored, the single surfer transformed into a rounded, almost abstract figure that felt both striking and mysterious. The mirrored version stuck, and the name came with it.

The Mirror design was in that very first 1999 collection, alongside early classics like Surfer in the Sun, Drop Knee, 3 Box Flower (now the Surf Sea Flower), and the original Vor logo. Together, these illustrations set the tone for everything Hager-Vor would become: hand-crafted and proudly Cornish.

Twenty-six years on, the Mirror design is still very much alive. We’ve reimagined it across different shapes, fits, colours, and products – yet it remains one of our most beloved prints. A piece of our history that continues to resonate with the community that built us.

From a lifeguard’s T-shirt in ’99 to wardrobes across Cornwall and beyond, the Mirror is more than a design. It’s a reminder of where we started – and how far the tide has carried us.