Twin tip skiers are setting the pace - and the fashions - on the slopes these days. Deirdre McQuillan checks out high-altitude style from 53 Degrees.
Looking cool in the cold can be a challenge. Who wants to seem 12kg heavier and be padded up like a duvet in ill-fitting shapes? But leading fashion brands are taking to the slopes for hip urbanwear, just as skiwear brands are turning to the high street for inspiration. High-tech fabrics and high fashion make an appealing partnership, combining good looks with protection and performance. Waterproof cargos can slouch from the slopes to the clubs just as easily as the hourglass shape can swoosh from the catwalk to the piste. Stella McCartney, for example, who skies and snowboards, has designed a new skiwear range for Adidas.
According to one stylish skiing enthusiast, Emma Durkan, whose passion for the sport began in Kitzbühel, in Austria, when she was a student, first-timers tend to beg, borrow or steal skiwear, but after a visit to Italy, France or Austria "they're more fashion-conscious, having seen what others are wearing". Now most of the well-known foreign brands are on sale in Ireland as skiing holidays become as popular as summer breaks, and second homes are as likely to be mountain chalets as seaside apartments.
Women who want sophisticated top-end skiwear, according to Durkan, go for labels such as Spyder, Kjus, Killy or Eider or funky brands such as Quiksilver or Roxy. A key piece could be a fitted jacket trimmed with fake fur and diamante, or striped with glacier colours. The current shape is generally curvy, emphasised by belt detail, so think silhouettes, not salopettes (which generally today come with detachable straps). The latest ski trousers are slim and trim and look more like jeans than Michelin-man gear. Great goggles and fun gloves do the rest.
Snowboarders who popularised sloppy joes and mad hats along with their reckless leaps and aerial manoeuvres were the real trend-setters in the snow world. Now it's the twin-tip skiers, with shorter, freestyle skis, who are giving skiing a new vibe and setting the pace. Durkan's advice for first-timers is to invest in a good jacket, for €100-€200, because its technical features will ensure warmth and protection from snow slopes to city streets. As in fashion, layering is key. As Durkan points out: "The fabric you wear next to your body is the most important."