In 1951, they were shown a new fabric that combined wool with a new Swiss nylon called Helanca. Helanca was unique because it could be pulled in any direction and still return to its original shape. Once fashioned to fit the body, it was sleek, sexy and, because of its wool content, warm.

Although the new material was difficult to tailor, Maria and Willy continued to test and experiment. By 1952 they had engineered a design that worked. That very ski season Maria and Willy introduced their new stretch pants to the world. The pants became an instant success. They were so popular the Bogners could barely keep up with the demand.

In 1955, they began offering their new stretch-pant designs in bright, non-traditional colors and patterns, all selling for the unheard of price of forty dollars and up. The designs were so amazing, skiers snatched them up several pairs at a time without even considering the price tag.

Bogner Stretch Pants were so popular, merchants had a difficult time keeping them stocked. As SKI Magazine reported, “Racers, who once wrapped thongs around their pants to prevent them from flapping, switched to stretchies. Marilyn Monroe, Ingrid Bergman, and the Shah of Iran wore them. Henry Ford ordered fifteen pairs!” Almost overnight skiing had been transformed into an elegantly fashionable and highly visible sport.

Those who supported rebellion yet preferred to stay warm and dry wore big, puffy down parkas and vests made popular by Sport Obermeyer in Aspen, Colorado. The bigger and baggier the jacket, the better. These Parkas and vests were much warmer than earlier models thanks to Klaus Obermeyer’s early innovative use of down as a ski clothing insulator.

Klaus invented the first insulated parka by filling a quilted jacket with the down feathers from an old comforter. According to Klaus, getting it right was a bit of a process. The first coats "looked like the Michelin man" because all the stuffing fell to the bottom. Klaus eventually worked out the kinks and his down-filled parkas became a long awaited success.

Klaus went on to pioneer other inventions in ski wear including the first ski gloves shaped like a hand, the first nylon wind shirts and the first quilted parka. The company he created, Sport Obermeyer, is currently the largest skiwear-only manufacturer in the United States.

From 1975-1986, three distinct looks characterized ski fashion. The Racer Look, typified by sleek nylon suits with "sausage padding and stretch action stripes," the Coordinated Look in which everything (right down to underwear) matched, and the High-Tech Look complete with Gore-Tex Parka, waterproof/breathable pants, gaiters, Gore-Tex/Thinsulate gloves and Vuarnet sunglasses. Of these three, the High-Tech Look survived, spawning a whole new generation of ski apparel.

W.L. Gore and Associates, the company that manufactures Gore-Tex, was founded in 1958 by Bill Gore, a former DuPont research engineer who worked on the original research team for PTFE (Teflon). When Gore left Dupont and started his own company, he began to develop a wide range of uses for PTFE including the weatherproofing of fabrics. He and his son, Robert, believed that if they could only "stretch" the molecules in Teflon, they would have a revolutionary new kind of material.

They began by heating rods of plastic until it became pliable. Then they tried to stretch it. Unfortunately it would only stretch so far before breaking. They experimented with numerous techniques with little success. Finally, in 1969, a frustrated Robert yanked violently at the Teflon, rather than trying to stretch it carefully, and to his great surprise, the material did not break. Robert’s breakthrough discovery of expanded PTFE eventually led to the development of Gore’s most famous product, Gore-Tex.

Gore-Tex was patented in May 1970. It’s best known use is as a razor thin membrane that is laminated to outdoor wear to make it waterproof, yet breathable. This wonder product reshaped the company’s future as well as the future of skiing. Today waterproof, breathable fabrics have become the industry standard.

Uninsulated shells, designed to be worn over an insulating layer, are the current favorites in skiwear. These pants and jackets come in various styles, weights and colors and are almost always weatherproofed. Many style come with a mesh lining designed to enhance breathability.

Synthetic materials such as nylon and polyester are still favored shell construction materials. The most commonly used fabrics include Antron, Supplex, Stunner, Tactel and Taslan. Some of the more technical lines use rugged synthetics such as Berguntal and Caprolan. Stiffer materials such as Cordura are used in high-abrasion areas.

Thanks to the breakthroughs made by the Gore-Tex laboratories, most skiwear fabrics are now treated with a coating or laminate to make them waterproof as well as breathable. This is true for both technical and fashionable skiwear. These coatings and laminates feature microscopic pores that allow moisture to escape but are too small to let snow and rain in. In addition to Gore-Tex, common waterproof-breathable fabrics include Activent, Dry-Loft, Durepel, Entrant, Exceltech, MemBrain, Sympatex, Triple Point Ceramic, Ultrex and WindBrake.

All of these shells require an insulating layer for warmth. Currently, the most common type of insulators are those made of quick drying, durable synthetic fleece—a fabric originally introduced under the brand name Polartec. Fleece insulators range from high-loft to low-loft and provide warmth without bulk. Popular fleece garments include pullovers, full-zip jackets and vests. Fleece has also been combined with stretch material for long johns.

Down, the very first insulation material used in skiwear, also remains a popular insulation material for ski clothing. It is soft, lightweight, and durable, and maintains a high loft, which creates a puffiness that endures as one of ski fashions timeless looks.

Though other skiwear brands do exist, the most common manufacturers include:

Alpine Design • Maser • Belfe • Mistaya • Bogner • Mobius • Boulder Gear • Mountain Hardwear • CB Sports • Nevica • Colmar • Nils • Columbia • Nordica • Couloir • Patagonia • Descente • Roffe • Fera • Rubicon • Fila • Schoffel • Gerry • Serac • Hard Corps • Sierra Designs • Head • Silvy • Helly-Hansen • Skea • High Sierra • Slalom • Kaelin • Solstice • Killy • Sportalm • Linda Lundstrom • Sport Obermeyer • Lowe Alpine • Spyder • Marker • Sun Ice • Marmot • Tenth Mountain • The North Face

END

^ The D&RG RR Ski Train to Aspen, c. 1949. Photo courtesy of Colorado State Historical Society

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