An illustrated journey of ski fashion through the years ILLUSTRATIONS BY JARED RODDEN WORDS BY WATKIN MCLENNAN
Next time your ski resort has a retro-day, don’t get stuck in the eighties. There are so many fashion trends from the past you can pay your respects to. Ski fashion has been a leader, and often a victim, in global fashion trends. Since the beginning people have always known, it’s not how you ski that matters, but how you look.
The Beginning
The Fifties
In the beginning there was wool. Warm, breathable, antibacterial wool. Inspired by ancient kayakers of the Arctic, skiers used long paddle-like poles called lurks and wore skirts to disguise themselves as walrus to evade the then prevalent polar bear.
With skiing gaining popularity in lower latitudes, skiers were no longer required to disguise themselves as walrus. Inspired by this freedom, Maria Bogna invented the stirruped stretch ski pant. The sleek lines of the human body on skis laid bare.
The Sixties
The Seventies
By the sixties, skiers had decided mimicking animals on the slopes could be fun and not just a necessity of yesteryear. Fur became popular but the stirruped stretch pant was retained to strike a balance between human beauty and animalistic expression.
In the seventies people no longer looked to animals for inspiration, they set their sights on the infinite possibilities found in space - The Moon Boot was born and with that Après-ski flourished. Skiing was forgotten in a fog of gluhwein and Moët.
27
