SNOW sat down with designer Sonya Powell to get the inside scoop on her brand Snow Sugar. Sonya grew up just outside Seattle and currently  lives with her husband Jason and 2 young daughters in LA. Though living in Southern California, they are fully committed to the snow lifestyle and spend most every weekend in Big Bear skiing where their kids are on the race team.

We started talking about what inspired her to start Snow Sugar. Sonya was driven to find fashionable, fun ski wear for the mountains. She wanted to create pieces that were unique and feminine and make something that would celebrate the female form, not hide it. She had a mission, she would combine fashion, function, femininity, and make it fun! Go F4!
Next Sonya set out to research fabrics that were the cutting edge of fashion but that would also have great functionality on the slopes. Finding just what she wanted, she set her sights on taking runway fashion to the slopes. She designed her first line that included faux fur lined jackets, form fitted pants, turtlenecks, skirts and scarfs. It was made for shredders by a shredder and there was no chance people would think you were wearing your boyfriend’s snow gear. Snow Sugar is for girls that aren’t afraid to be girls,

Snow Sugar

Knowing  Sonya had a Master’s Degree from Columbia in Organizational Psychology, we spoke about the divergence in her path. She explained that creativity was always her driving force  no matter what she was doing. Because she was so passionate about riding and the snow lifestyle, designing ski wear seemed like a natural extension.

The conversation shifted to  best places in the world to ski and après ski, Sonya said that they love Big Bear of course, but that Whistler Blackcomb in Canada is a favorite for skiing and La Folie Douce in Val d’Isere, France is an amazing place for après ski.

Snow Sugar has made quite an impact in the last 2 years and Sonya has fans like Alicia Keys has a Cupcake  jacket in black licorice that she loves. Her “must have” for this year is her new Gumdrop jacket. She describes it as a mini dress meets your classic parka. As if starting a new brand, designing it, marketing it, and doing events around the ski world weren’t enough, Sonya has spent the last year traveling around the world with her family. They traveled around the world and skied in New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, France, Austria, and Italy. They have two months left before heading home and they’ve got plans for the World Cup in Brazil and skiing in Chile and Argentina. Find out more about Snow Sugar at www.snowsugarshop.com  and her travels with her family at www.themothertrip.com