Skiwear Comes in From the Cold and Heads Back to Basics With Practical Styling,Traditional Colors and Down-to-Earth Detailing
In winters past, fashion-conscious skiers dressed like they were on their way to a night on the town instead of a day on the slopes.
That’s because skiwear looked a lot like evening wear. Velvets, iridescent lames, rhinestones, silver and gold studs--nothing was too glitzy for the slopes.
This season the toned-down ‘90s have caught up with downhill racers. After venturing into neon and glitter, skiwear is headed back to the basics. The classic parka has returned, complete with a fur-trimmed hood, a drawstring waist and a longer cut. Traditional ski colors such as red, navy and forest green have overtaken purples and teals.
Rhinestones and studs have been replaced by less ostentatious trims: suede detailing, light embroidery work and buttons and zipper pulls in natural wood or antique metal finishes. In keeping with the more natural looks, fur is making a comeback. Hoods and collars come trimmed in raccoon, silver fox and synthetic furs.
Without the glitter, the latest skiwear looks a lot like it did in the 1950s. Obermeyer and Bogner, two leading skiwear manufacturers, both have turned to their industry’s roots for inspiration.
Their ’93 parkas come in traditional solid or two-tone colors instead of the crazy-quilt jackets that had three, four or more contrasting shades. The jackets have an old-fashioned fuller cut, and they cover the rear; showing off the body seems less important this season than keeping it warm.
“Everything’s a bit more earthy,” says Karen Holt, assistant software manager for Chick’s Sporting Goods in Tustin. “There’s a lot more fur, a lot more matte fabrics and serious hardware.”
Typical of the down-to-earth ski styles: Bogner’s hunter green bomber jacket for men with antique tortoise snaps ($488) and Obermeyer’s two-toned parka for women in shades of charcoal and buff with scalloped suede trim around the yoke and black fur trim around the hood ($325), both at Chick’s in Tustin, Laguna Hills and Yorba Linda.
Such suede and fur details “are the real classic touches seen on original skiwear,” Holt says. “It’s a real back-to-the-mountain, Austrian ‘50s look.”
Motifs on skiwear reflect a growing appreciation for the great outdoors. Western looks, Native American designs and Southwest themes are prominent.
Bogner has embroidered intricate feathers and other Native American designs on its parkas. One women’s jacket comes in white or tan with Native American embroidery in turquoise, orange and white on the hood and front and buttons inlaid with pieces of genuine turquoise ($769), available at Newport Ski Co. in Newport Beach and Orange.
“There’s still a lot of thought going into the details,” says Christi Deverian, clothing buyer for Newport Ski Co. “There’s a lot of interest in snap closures. Except now they’re using silver and pewter instead of shiny gold things.”
Suede has replaced velvet as the luxury fabric for skiing; it’s being used for trims or for the entire garment.
Bogner has a black jacket for women with an eagle embroidered on the back and suede fringe across the back and along the sleeves ($1,099), while Skea makes a long anorak out of buff-colored suede with faux fur around the hood ($689), both at Newport Ski Co. For men, there’s a two-tone black and rust jacket from Bogner with a suede collar and eagles stitched on the front, back and sleeves ($739).
Some iridescent materials can still be found, but they’re in deeper colors than in the past. Burgundy and forest green have replaced bright pink and lime.
“This season we’re still seeing some shiny fabrics, but they’re not quite so ornate. There are more fabrics with texture rather than baubles on it,” says Susie Wiyninger, fashion designer for Nils skiwear in Fountain Valley. Wiyninger is already at work on her ’94 skiwear collection and sees the back-to-basics trend getting stronger.
“Next year skiwear is really toned down,” she says.
Among her classic looks: a navy anorak with a faux-fur trimmed hood and front pockets for women ($295) and her men’s parkas in solid red, teal or navy with the tone-on-tone Nils crest embroidered on front ($349), both at Newport Ski Co. One of her most glamorous creations this season is a long women’s jacket of deep iridescent purple with pewter hardware and a black fur-lined hood ($375), at Chick’s.
Longer jackets were inspired by designer fashions, Wiyninger says. Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren and other major designers began showing anoraks that reached to the thighs, and the skiwear industry followed suit.
For serious skiers, fashion is not as crucial as function. They prefer a timeless “techy” look that is largely immune to the whims of designers.
The North Face makes high-performance skiwear that emphasizes function over flash.
“Glitz has never been an adjective you would use to describe our skiwear,” says Betsy Leggat, skiwear sales director of the North Face in Berkeley.
Their jackets, parkas and “chute suits” come in primary colors--yellow, red, blue and alpine green--that don’t change with the seasons. They’re made from high-tech, water-resistant fabrics and stocked with technical features that hard-core skiers need: underarm “pit zips” that unzip to keep the skier cool, powder skirts to keep the wind and snow out of the jacket, covered zippers and seams to keep out the wind and hoods that zip into a collar.
The company’s no-frills Extreme Gear collection of parkas and jackets ($250 to $295) and serious Steep Tech line ($295 to $460) are available at the North Face in Triangle Square in Costa Mesa.
