I’ve always had a certain aversion for skiing, mainly because I was traumatised by rather impractical Bidendum-like skiing suits so popular on Italian slopes in the early 80s. Yet it wasn’t always like that.
Between the 60s and the 70s, skiing suits and garments for winter sports were mainly created following the highest principles of the Italian tailoring tradition.
In Perugia Leonardo Servadio, founder of the company ellesse, started his empire by enlisting the help of skilled local tailor, Vittorio Bigerna, with whom he produced his first pair of men’s trousers.
Characterised by an impeccable cut, Servadio’s first trousers - with names such as “Lavaredo”, “Tofana”, “Pordoi”, “Cristallo” and “Cervino” - took their names from the Dolomite peaks.
While being a testament of Servadio’s love for mountain sports, the trousers uncannily anticipated the bright future the company would experience in the ski sector.
At the time, many people had discovered that mountain resorts offered the opportunity to relax but also to engage in exciting winter sports.
Diversifying its production and concentrating on skiing trousers, padded jackets and knitwear, ellesse aimed to reach both male and female customers who wanted to look stylish even in practical and functional clothes.
As the years passed the company started a collaboration with athletes: the former suggested, ellesse researched and then provided technical solutions.
This is how the “Jet Pant” that became popular in the ‘70s was born.
The stretch ski-pants featured an elastic yoke on the back of the trousers that made movements easier, the crotch seams were lowered to provide maximum comfort, padded knees were added to protect the legs of the skiers from accidents and internal nylon gaiters prevented snow seepage into the boots.
In 1979 ellesse was invited to exhibit the “Jet Pants” at the Centre Georges Pompidou during an event dedicated to Italian design. It was a remarkable achievement: the skiing trousers were considered on par with the portable Olivetti typewriter “Lettera 22”, they were indeed part of the history of contemporary industrial design.
Throughout the 1970s ellesse carried out a genuine revolution in sportswear and skiing suits became technologically advanced, glamorous and chic.
Even the dark and dull colours of country-skiing uniforms were left behind in favour of bold and bright shades of yellow, blue and red.
Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Grazia all featured garments by ellesse in their most stylish photo shoots, paired with haute couture creations such as designer coats and furs.
Though in the 80s the company kept on introducing quite a few technological innovations, during these decade it also started a collaboration with new fashion designers such as French Jean-Charles de Castelbajac: this was a significant event for the history of fashion since it was one of the first times a sportswear company and a fashion designer worked together.
Further collaborations with other designers such as Valentino followed and there was even a skiing line called “Stardust”, characterised by inserts of metallic plastic textiles and 24 carat gold satin, an absolute must for the passionate ski lovers who wanted to “shine” on the slopes.
Yet while I did prefer the 60s-70s to the 80s when it comes to skiing trends, I must admit that my absolutely favourite skiing styles were the ones from the early 30s.
On the cover of the 15th December 1932 issue of Le Jardin des Modes (yes, exactly 77 years ago…), there is an illustration of a stylish woman clad in an elegant Schiaparelli ensemble, comprising a pair of blue trousers, a beige cropped jacket with frog fastenings, a pink scarf and a blue beret and gloves.
The feature inside the magazine advised women not to exaggerate with too many woollen garments as temperatures weren’t supposed to be too low, but to maybe pile up one or two light jumpers or opting for a shirt, a waistcoat or a light jumper and a cropped houndstooth jacket.
The choice when it came to trousers was ample and included Knizé’s whipcord trousers and Léda’s gabardine pants.
While the best colours for the suits were classic nuances such as dark blue or black, women could have added a bit of colour by choosing jumpers decorated with Norwegian motifs or colourful berets and gloves.
The feature highlighted anyway to avoid cumbersome scarves and favour “petites cravates”.
Perfect examples of this look were the stylish designs by Worth and Lanvin-Sport, modelled by two women in the pages of the magazine.
Today, thanks to the various innovations introduced in sportswear, performances have definitely improved, but, by looking at these styles, you definitely feel there is something missing on our modern slopes.
Nowadays, like in the 80s, padded jackets in vividly bright colours or sparkling gold and silver nuances are often the norm and while that may be rather fashionable, leafing through this issue of Le Jardin des Modes I feel a slight pang of nostalgia for a time when the cut of a jacket or the way a pair of trousers fell was as important as your skiing technique.
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