Lust!

Dynafit skis – love the edelweiss!

hand screened scarves

Sweet bag

Wouldn’t want to get these dirty

So cool!

Swoon!

Bogner in-the-boot stretch pants with retro photos

So many great textiles

These shoes wouldn’t fit in my pack…

Fantastic packaging

Pillow inspired by paper cut design

Matterhorn shaped chocolates

For more about my alpine adventure click here and here.

For more “Alpine Inspiration” check out my Pinterest board here.

Built by the Swiss Alpine Club in 2009, it is a wonder of self-sufficiency. Isolated by mountain ranges and glaciers it sits alone at 2,883 meters and is accessible only by skis in winter, and foot in summer. The building’s shiny aluminum clad exterior is broken up by a band of windows and south facing photovoltaic panels. A small supplemental heat and electricity unit runs on rapeseed oil. Meltwater, collected in the summer and stored in a rocky cavern above the hut provides hot and cold water. Waste water is purified in a biological microfiltration plant and uses the grey water for flushing toilets. Surplus water is cleaned and returned to the environment. The new Monte Rosa hut is 90% self- sufficient.

The warm timber framed interior defies it’s cold metal exterior. The supporting timbers in the sunny dining room are digitally carved with lines that resemble the rings of a tree, or the contour lines of a map. The meals served by the hut keepers were surprisingly delicious. Tucked into my wooden bunk and covered with a duvet I slept like a log.

Photos Via

My Easter dinner table is not complete without clusters of hand painted Rômanian Easter eggs as the centerpiece. I was fortunate to meet the artisan who made them in her home and to watch her decorate them with amazing skill. Click here to see how they are made along with my photos.

MPD Vision is assembled by one of the world’s leading trend forecasting companies, Mudpie. They have been kind enough to allow me to clip the article and share it here. It includes a nice blip about ISIS and a super short interview with me. Enjoy it and let me know your thoughts on this emerging trend!

photos and text via: MDP Vision

That said I’m pleasantly surprised with her designs for the 2012 British Olympic teams. Her use of a stylized Union flag wrapped around the body is cool looking, though you’d think she would have used a bit more red for impact and national identification. The pale blue looks washed out and soft, and lacks the fiery red of competition.

The functional designs looks really clean and performance driven and thankfully lack the aforementioned superfluous-ness. A fellow designer friend and I wonder if perhaps the technical design team at Adidas helped her out a bit here? We both agree that designing Olympic team uniforms would be a dream job! Please share your thoughts about these kits.

“Until the 1950s, ski wear consisted of baggy woolen pants and knitted sweaters, topped with a bulky wool overcoat. Though warm and functional, these clothes did nothing to flatter the figure. This changed in 1952 with the introduction of Bogner ski pants. Created by Maria Bogner, member of a German skiwear producing family, “Bogners” were a form-fitting ski pant made of wool and a newly developed nylon fiber called Helanca. By 1955, Bogners were available in a variety of bright colors. Because they displayed the muscular curves of both male and female skiers, Bogners were credited with introducing sex appeal to skiing. According to Ski magazine, “Marilyn Monroe, Ingrid Bergman and the Shah of Iran wore them. Henry Ford ordered 15 pairs. Overnight, skiing had been transformed into a sexy and very visible sport.”

“Bogners appeared at the perfect moment, just as North Americans were experiencing unprecedented economic prosperity in the wake of World War II. Many individuals with surplus income turned their attention to the serious pursuit of sporting and leisure activities, such as skiing. Widespread interest in skiing was encouraged by simplifications in ski boots, skis and ski lifts, making it easier for a novice to get both up and down the mountain. At the end of the day, skiers could relax at comfortable resort lodgings, which often included spacious rooms for dining and dancing, along with heated outdoor pools. Skiing was now a fashionable activity, no longer limited to those rugged enough to withstand a cold slog through the snow.”

While the Bogner family might have stolen the limelight, there is historical evidence that in Megeve, a collaboration between skiier Emile Allais and the AAllard family brought about the first ski stretch pants. Armand AAllard was a skilled tailor in Megeve and made custom clothing for both on and off the slopes.  Unlike “Bogner” his was a custom not production affair which is why he likely has taken a backseat to the internationaly known ski brand.

The FIDM Museum ski-themed blouse seen here details the daily activity of a stretch pant clad skier on vacation. As you can see from the silk-screened images, actual skiing occupies only a portion of her day. Her brightly colored ski wear is typical of the late 1950s, when retailers offered ski wear in a variety of fashionable colors and patterns. Many urban department stores featured ski boutiques, and in 1959, at least one fashion writer suggested that ski wear would soon be seen both off and on the slopes. Not surprisingly, the slim silhouette of late 1950s ski wear echoed (or vice-versa) the slim pants then seen in casual sportswear.

For more vintage ski fashion click here or follow my “Vintage Winter” boards on Pinterest.

Skiing on weekends can’t be about making lots of runs because of lift lines. But longer lines are great for socializing and checking out what people are wearing and the gear they’re using; real time trend spotting at it’s best, and great inspiration for my work.

Over the weekend I spotted a couple wearing some fabulous mittens a bit behind me in line. I waited for them at the top of the mountain so I could take a closer look.

Their handcrafted leather mittens are made in the U.S. and are beautifully embellished with intricate beadwork, fringe and fur based on Cree Indian designs. The company name, derived from the Cree word for mittens, is Astis. The mitts are truly works of art.

It turns out that the couple I was chatting with are friends with the owner of Astis and filled me in on their story. I mentioned that I was a designer, and as an aside had designed the Isis jacket the woman was wearing. She told me how much she loves her jacket and that the photographer who took the photos on the hangtag was a friend of theirs. There are far less than seven degrees of separation in the ski world.

For me, one of the highlights of the show was being included as one of the judges for Project O.R. – a competition for design students that celebrates the functionality, originality and design of outdoor recreation clothing.

Six design students from top design programs from around the country were chosen for the competition. On the first morning of the show they were handed a design brief requiring them to produce a prototype of an innovative, original and functional backcountry ski pant for women using performance and eco-friendly materials – within 48 hours! Contestants chose the latest technical fabrics and trims provided by exhibiting industry suppliers.

Because of my experiences of designing such pants for Isis, I was well aware of the multiple challenges this assignment provided for the designers. Problems such as how a woman relieves herself in the backcountry without undressing, how to provide adequate venting, what kind of fabrics to use to help regulate fluctuating body temperatures, where to place pockets so they won’t interfere with a harness etc., would need to be resolved.

Later in the day a panel of judges, comprised of five industry insiders, reviewed the designer’s initial concept sketches and storyboards, fabric selections and garment features and made suggestions that would help improve the functionality of the designs.

Margaret Mussman's storyboard and concept sketches

After the judge’s critique the designers made changes and settled into their personal work stations equipped with sewing machines, cutting tables, tools and pressing equipment to start making their patterns and building their prototypes.

Julia Mangelsdorf starts drafting her pattern

Paula Lam working with her pattern pieces

Lauren Mellor applies seam tape to the inside of her pant

When the judges checked back in with the students, less than 48 hours later, they all had garments ready to present to us. I for one was totally blown away by their ability to pull together such well thought-out and finished garments in such a short timeframe. Grace under pressure!

Project O.R. is a truly wonderful opportunity to introduce students to the Outdoor industry. The beauty is that they can tap directly into knowledgable people who work for well-known apparel and hard goods brands and fabric suppliers, because all those people are all under one roof during the show.

Margaret Mussman from the University of Cincinnati was the undisputed winner of the contest. Her exceptionally detailed bib pant showed a clear understanding of the end-user and her needs in the backcountry. The pant was beautifully constructed – mostly using Bemis adhesive tape, instead of stitching, to bond waterproof breathable stretch fabrics together. Margaret, a former competitive snowboarder imaginatively used her snow sport experience to influence her design.

Margaret Mussman with her winning design celebrates with a glass of champagne

A few of the designers had little or no prior exposure to skiing. It was impressive how all the contestants took the judges first feedback to heart and made some extraordinary changes to their initial designs and fabric selections. All of them created a pant that surpassed their original concept sketches. It was a real pleasure to be in the company of such talent!

Lauren Mellor's pant was highly praised for it's interesting fabric selection and forward styling

Kelsee Morefield's pant included a discreet front to back zipper system, an efficient system for when nature calls.

Jennifer Hirsch's ambitious design took it's inspiration from fresh ski tracks.

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Have a nice weekend!

Design: Janet Emmelkamp,Utrecht School of the Arts

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