Meet the women who are the driving forces behind four of winter fashion’s most trendsetting designs.
You may have seen their creations on the glitzy slopes of Kitzbühel, Cortina d’Ampezzo, or Megève. Perhaps you’ve purchased them in the chic boutiques of Aspen, Crans Montana, or Chamonix. But what you see in the shop window or on the hanger is only part of the story. We spotlight four of the ski world’s most cutting-edge fashion houses—Goldbergh, Houdini, Authier 1910, and Fleischer Couture—and talk to the women behind these successes.
GOLDBERGH
Who’s afraid of sexy?
One of the ski world’s most fiercely feminine brands, Goldbergh is not afraid to be sexy when it comes to designing clothing for women who want to shred in style.
“Our collection offers women all the freedom of movement they need to be confident in their sport, whether they’re conquering challenges on the slopes or pushing their limits in the gym.
Goldbergh brings luxury and fun together in perfectly designed skiwear,” says Lieke van den Berg, who founded the luxury ski and lifestyle brand with business partner Sandra Peet in 2009.
“Being born into a family that considers skiing the greatest sport on earth, I have shared this opinion since I first stood on skis at the age of four. The motivation for creating Goldbergh is a passion for the sport and the desire to make women look more beautiful and confident in their skiwear,” says Peet, whose family has been in the retail skiwear business since 1976.
Loud and proud about her ski-junkie roots and her passion for fashion, van den Berg’s ultra-feminine, body-hugging silhouettes are ultimately the byproduct of a frustrated skiwear shopper who had to create for herself what she couldn’t find in the marketplace.
“Skiing and fashion have always been my two biggest passions, so I decided to make my passion for fashion my profession. When I started out, skiwear was big and oversized, and the baggy “snowboard look” was hot and happening. Being a female skier, I preferred the so-called Rennhose look—tight ski pants with a very race-inspired silhouette, but for ladies they were impossible to find. I thought if I am looking for this, there must be more women who would like to look feminine and sparkly when hitting the slopes,” says van den Berg.
HOUDINI
Pushing boundaries with guilt-free chic
In 2001, when Swedish fashion-industry juggernaut Eva Karlsson and business partner Hanna Lindblad took over the reins of Houdini, one of the most stylish, eco-friendly, and sustainable mountainwear brands, their goal was not to sell more product. It was to sell less.
“We don’t need more clothes, but we need clothes that can do more,” has been one of Houdini’s guiding principles, something Karlsson stands firmly by today.
“We don’t design seasonal themes. Anything seasonal will be dated after that season, which in turn will increase overconsumption. On the contrary, we design clothes that can be worn for a very long time without going out of fashion,” says Karlsson. “That’s a hard thing to do, but the right thing for the planet. The same thing goes for color. Any new color must match the previous season’s colors, so you can combine the new piece with an older piece from Houdini.”
Karlsson’s “do the right thing” philosophy sets them apart from many competitors—but the true magic behind Houdini’s success is its ability to push the boundaries of style and sustainability by conjuring genuine, guilt-free chic. From crisp, minimalist ski jackets, to the company’s innovative and award-winning initiative Project Mono Air—the world’s first fleece jacket designed to fight plastic waste—Houdini is the real deal.
AUTHIER 1910
The perfection perspective
Perspective is everything for the creative engine behind Authier 1910—one of the boldest, hippest luxury skiwear labels on the market today.
“I’m dressing people with ski clothing every day. I know what they like and don’t like, and that gives me a unique perspective on what we should be making,” says Lee Keating, design czar at Authier since 2010. Keating is also part owner of Performance Sport, one of Aspen’s most upscale ski boutiques. Part stylist, part designer, part business owner, Keating is a fashion-world triple threat, and she’s less than shy when asked what sets Authier apart.
“An Authier piece is perfect. We use the highest quality materials, it’s a perfect fit, it’s functional in terms of an active, athletic garment,” says Keating. She readily admits the hunt for perfection is her primary goal when creating skiwear.
“We’ve spent the last 11 years trying to make the perfect jacket, and the perfect pants, and the perfect layering piece. We don’t try to reinvent the wheel every season but we continue to work and perfect the perfect pieces—all from feedback from our clients. It’s 100 percent a product driven by the end user,” Keating says.
FLEISCHER COUTURE
A ski jacket of her own
Norwegian designer Maja Mejlænder Fleischer may not realize it, but in some ways she’s the Virginia Woolf of skiwear, an accidental businesswoman who founded an outerwear company simply because she wanted to encourage women to get outdoors in warmth and style. “Our initial motivation was to inspire more girls to get out into nature by designing nicer skiwear. By combining fashion and sport we wanted to create products every woman feels good in despite cold weather. I’ve always had a passion for skiing, being out in nature, and for fashion,” says Fleischer. “So when I couldn’t find the perfect ski jacket, I wanted to make it myself. Fleischer Couture was born out of a desire to create a ski jacket for women that was both functional and fashionable, and in the early 2000s, this was hard to come by.”
Since those early days, Fleischer Couture’s collection has grown from an assortment of numbered pieces to an array of elegant ski jackets, long and medium length coats, insulators, and a spectacular body hugging down skirt that is an absolute must-have.
