Diane Damra, ahlivv Team Rider

Over the past few years, we have watched the progression of outerwear style in the ski and snowboard world. Yes, or course we all remember those ‘too hot’ neon jackets, and old school onesies, around the time of the rear-entry ski boot. But, as we find ourselves in the middle of the 08-09 season, we are being revisited by some of the oldest trends in skiing and snowboarding, while they collide with new cuts, detailing and color combos.  Most of the outerwear companies are down with slim silhouettes, bright poppy colors (green and yellow are huge this year) and sophisticated and functional fabrics. Funky and crazy patterns are also surfacing themselves, including plaids and stars.

When it comes to color, this season is all about neutral tones with pop flashes. DC and Sessions have played with the concept of pop for 2009. It’s all about integrating brights with earth tones. Burton has a strong offering of pop colors, which they say have been requested by the global team – a perfect example of the 80s making a comeback. They also include a lot of zebra, polka-square and Asian paper prints into the women’s line. Another trend in color is there is a lot of emphasis on contrasting, colorful linings. You can find this at Cappel, where all the linings have a copper foil print on satin. 686 developed screen-printed artwork on their linings to mix it up this season.

Many brands now offer sub-lines so they can cater to different types of riders. Bonfire has the Radiant Series (an evolution of Bonfire favorites), while their Standard Collection sets the pace for the future with progressive styles for the fashion-conscious consumer.  686’s outerwear is split into five categories, ranging from the ultra-tech Smarty line with zip-in coordinating liner technology, to Manual, which has bang-for-your-buck price points. Rome is offering two parts to their women’s collection this season, 100 and Manifest. The two lines are defined by the perspective and attitude of the rider, not by the level of technology, so both levels have varying levels of tech spec.

Silhouettes go slim and sexy – The dominant trend for fits this season is a return to a longer, leaner cut, slimmer pants and a hip grazing jacket, sometimes with belted waist. This style is very feminine and flattering. You can find this style plenty in the Holden and Vans lines.

Other brands have expanded their women’s offering to create a wider range of product. Nikita has have taken inspiration from their successful street wear line and continued it through for fall/winter (it now has ten different styles of jackets and six pants). They all share waterproof/breathability ratings from 3K to 15K and plenty of detailing for the fashion element. DC’s winter ‘08 women’s outerwear line is made up of two themes: a Military theme for its utility, color and styling elements, and a Street Tech theme because of its visual elements and performance features. Billabong is influenced by street wear and music. It’s divided by high-performance and style-orientated pieces in collaboration with team riders. They also have a large range of graphics and all-over prints, all exclusively developed by graphic and music artists. Vans collection for 08/09 was designed by women that demanded fashion inspired silhouettes, trendy color, beautiful embellishments and key accessories.

So, regardless of which style you decide to rock this season, be assured that you’ll have lots of options, and ‘boring’ will be a word that is erased from your vocab!

Happy Shopping!

D

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