Ski Press World Inc. - Index

Ski Press World Inc. - SIA Day 4 - Index

trend +/accessories
MOUNTAIN HARDWEAR hats like the soft, toasty Heat
Stamp, the reversible Moniker and the bright Beacon Beanie
embody the latest trends. The women’s knit Lyra has full
ear coverage and the Castor and Nashira use merino wool
with fl eece ear bands and pompom toppings.
PISTIL adds more brims and graphics to its specialtyyarn
hats. Half of the collection is made in Italy with soft,
extra-fi ne Lana Cotta and boiled wools. The new olive and
brown, brimmed Ginger hat refl ects Pistil’s collection of
soft acrylic, Argentinean, chunky knits.
SCOTT’S brimmed, women’s Sorbet and extra-soft, fl eecelined
Pogo are topped with pompoms.
SHRED ALERT’S Bottlewool collection is made from 50%
post-consumer plastic bottles and 50% minimally processed
rag wool. Polartec fl eece liners in the richly colored Hippy
Beanies use recycled fi bers and Bambam beanies (think
pompoms) use Bamboo fi bers for natural performance.
CHAOS renames its Natural Line to Chaos Green, using
Organic Wool where the food and hormones that animals
eat are strictly regulated. Chaos Green hats use lowimpact
dyes from vegetable and root powders. The ultrastretchable
4x spandex core hat line includes new women’s
styles with tapestry jacquards and snowfl akes.
BULA’S new line of bamboo/wool blended hats use 100%
naturally renewable resources and no chemical additives.
Bula’s Stereohead collection has brims, bombers and long
earfl aps with low-profi le earpads for plug and play.
“We are seeing a fascination for cold, wide open spaces and
the chunky artisan-styled knitting that speaks of times long
past. There are a lot of quirky color combos that look as
though Nana made you a hat and scarf from all her leftover
yarns...unusual mixes of colors and textures, funky and
unexpected trims. There seems to be a genuine longing for
nostalgia and things of the past...from old school stripes to
oversized pom and slouch beanies.”
Beth Cochran, Public Relations, Chaos Headwear
For years we saw a predominance of fabric gloves (some
with breathable, waterproof membranes) with limited use
of leather on the palms and trims. But now expert skiers
and snowboarders are returning to leather as the preferred
glove material. The primary reasons are durability, comfort,
and style…Nothing feels or wears like leather.
Charlie Adams, President, Level USA
Watch out for the patterns and change-ups. Plaids will be
really hot, tweeds are coming in strong and everybody has
an all-over print. Other manufacturers are fi nally thinking
neons are the right thing, but they are a few years behind
the jump-off with the combination. The new Grenade
misfi ts gear is all about the patchwork!
Danny Kass, President, Grenade Gloves
We look for leather gloves because that’s what we’re always
out of at the end of the year. They’re warmer and harder to
rip up. Our customers are in the park so they want to move
22 SNOWPRESS DAY 4 skipressworld.com/snowpress
Scott Pogo beanie
ECORAGS uses recycled fabrics and linings for earthfriendly
manufacturing that refl ects the deep-woods,
rugged styling of its hats.
POWDER HORN styles include the “retro-pommed,
grandma knit” Powdersmoke Hat, the Elmer Fuddish
Clovis hat and the Alpaca knit, women’s Calamity Hat.
ARTEPACA introduces the women’s Qanuk beanie, made
from 100% Peruvian baby alpaca. Softer then cashmere
and warmer than sheep wool, the beanie is hand sewn with
intricate designs and detail. — SUSAN SCHNIER
their hands and stay warm so we pick gloves that balance
thickness and comfort. Level and POW gloves do very well.
People went nuts for Level’s Utah Gore 2 in 1 last year. In
hats, logos are big because kids want to wear the gear that
matches their skis. Brimmed hats haven’t done that well.
Last year pompoms were more popular; now they’re dying
out. Long beanies are the style now.
Josh Bryant, Owner, Jibij Pro Shop, Boulder, Colorado
Bula Cowgirl
Earphone beanie
Ecorags hat
I’d like to see more moderate prices, especially when it
comes to gloves. The average Joe doesn’t want to spend
$75 on a pair of ski gloves. Snowboard is a little different. In
Vail and Aspen, that’s what they want, not in Forrest Hills,
New York. We’re not an entry level/entry priced store, we’re
speciality, but the prices are getting out of hand and the
customers get tired of seeing that. Outside zipper compart-
ments for hand warmers are great, people’s hands and toes
are always cold. In hats, I buy Bula and Turtle Fur. Earfl aps,
pompoms and faux fur are popular now. Mad Bomber hats
used to blow out the door in the ’90s. This year Bula is
making one. I saw that Mad Bomber is at SIA so I’m excited
to stop by and see what they have 10 years later.
Karen De Turris, Buyer & Manager, Emilo’s Ski Shop, Forrest
Hills, New York
Sales are way up in hats and gloves. The wooly hats with
tie downs are insanely popular, where the higher tech hats
really are not selling. In gloves, it’s the softshells, liners and
medium weight gloves and the resort gloves coming in a
Art Epaca Women’s
Qanuk beanie
Shred Alert
Jeremy beanie
distant third, but that could change after these storms.
Here are some thoughts on why:
1. Pent-up demand from last season (poor winter)
2. Wooly tie down hats (Tele Hippy look is cool)
3. General economy is down so people are buying lots of
small goods, and very few large goods.
Gary Kean, Gear Expert, REI Reno
Mountain Hardwear
Kastra beanie
Pistil
Ginger hat
We sell a lot hats that go with the name brands of our
jackets like Orage, Salomon and O’Neil and we do a big
Turtle Fur buy. Earfl ap hats are defi nitely coming back, but
the ones with the tie downs are not that popular; they’d
probably do better without the ties. Big fur Fargo hats are
really popular. In gloves, people ask for Gore-Tex and goggle
squeegees and they like long, snowboard-style gauntlets.
Megan Mellow, Manager, PlumpJack Sport, Squaw Valley,
California
In gloves, the cost of goods has gone up 10-15% because
of the exchange rate and the cost of raw materials, espe-
cially products that are petroleum-based. Leather is big and
Scott is coming back with a lighter, smaller insulated leather
glove. Scott and Helly Hansen have hats with interesting
patterns and weaves and funky colors that match their
lines. Apparel and accessories are all freedom of expres-
sion so anything you have in there is fair game. Some of
my riders are wearing Alpaca hats and tight jeans and
I’m thinking, that’s what I used to wear… Jeff Burkley, Rep
— SS
VOLVO — OFFICIAL CAR OF
Chaos
Peru hat