This holiday season, skiers bemoaned the lack of snow on the mountains in Alpine hotspots from Gstaad to Aspen. Many of those who spent top dollar to ride out the season at luxury mountain resorts wound up spending as much time nursing hot chocolate at the chalet — or toasting champagne at après — as they did on the slopes.
That was no bad thing for brands. Ski season is fast becoming a key selling period for brands and retailers, as top-end consumers increasingly build out full luxury ski closets. And with more options than ever — from challenger brands like Perfect Moment to performance offshoots like Moncler’s Grenoble — more luxury brands are offering up technical gear with accessories to boot, to get customers prepped for their winter escapes.
At Milan Fashion Week Men’s, ski influences were splashed across the runways, and brands including K-Way and Armani’s EA7 held ski-inspired events, ahead of the Winter Olympics taking place across Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo from February 6.
“This ski season has kicked off exceptionally well for us,” says Tiffany Hsu, Mytheresa chief buying and group fashion venture officer, noting that the category has continued to grow year-on-year. “Compared to previous seasons, we’ve seen an even greater enthusiasm from our customers, driven by a combination of innovative product offerings and an increased desire for luxury performance wear. This positive trajectory underlines the expanding appeal of ski gear not just as functional apparel, but as a key lifestyle statement within our assortment.”
Tech hits
Pinterest anticipates the rise of “darecations” this year, meaning consumers are booking high-octane travel as opposed to restful beach vacations, whether it’s planning high-adrenaline ski trips or traveling for global sporting events, says global head of trends and insights Sydney Stanback. To this end, Pinterest is seeing increased searches for technical gear. “As consumers embrace more adventurous and high-adrenaline travel, they’re increasingly interested in technical gear that prioritizes both performance and style,” she says. Searches for “ski fits aesthetic” are up 315% year-on-year, “Winter Olympics aesthetic” up 180%, “baggy ski fit” up 950%, and “puffer jacket outfits for women” up 1,400%.
The growing appeal for this functional-fashionable overlap is a win for high-end brands amid a tough luxury environment. The more technical the gear, the more expensive. At a time when high price points are tough for customers to justify, a luxury item that serves a functional purpose is, perhaps, an easier sell than a $5,000-plus handbag or a $2,000-plus sweater. When snow hit Paris in early January, snow boots were trending on TikTok as denizens pulled out their Chanel and Gucci stompers to wear around the city.
The emphasis on technical innovation makes plain why Jacquemus partnered with Nike on its recent skiwear drop, rather than going at it alone: product descriptions emphasize the triple-layer waterproof Gore-Tex material and PrimaLoft padding. This drop was a stand-out for Net-a-Porter, per chief buying and merchandising officer Brigitte Chartrand, who also highlights notable growth across Moncler’s high-performance outerwear Grenoble line and new (for NAP) brand Sease. Moncler is headed to Aspen for its Grenoble Fall/Winter 2026 show on January 31, further propelling the line for the current season.
Technical outerwear will cater to this desire for innovation in 2026, predicts Caitlin Folgner, strategist on the WGSN sports and outdoors forecast team, which anticipates the rise of “rugged luxury” in the year ahead. Folgner expects a shift toward temperature regulation, with an emphasis on garments that manage heat, moisture and airflow to meet consumer needs.
A key season
Retailers have their traditionally key seasons for when collections hit stores: July to September for Fall/Winter; January to March for Spring/Summer; and the all-important holiday season.
Ski has evolved into a “strategically crucial” period for Mytheresa, Hsu says, bridging the gap between the end of the fall sale cycle and the launch of spring collections. “[It] drives significant revenue during a transitional retail phase,” she says. “Ski season allows us to maintain momentum and engage our clientele with fresh, compelling offerings at a pivotal time of year.”
Moda Operandi buyer Rizka Rivianti says ski has consistently represented one of the greatest areas of opportunity within Moda’s business. “With that, we strategically invested into this category in order to meet this season’s demand,” she adds.
Consumers are increasingly keen to build out their ski closets, observes Divya Mathur, chief merchandising officer and fashion director at Revolve, which often means purchasing full looks. Popular products span base layers, ski jumpsuits, matching ski jackets and pants, as well as accessories like goggles, gloves and hats. “Oversized fur bucket hats are a huge hit this year,” Mathur says. Ski purchases tend to be especially large. “Our customer is not only thinking about her outer layers, she also wants to make sure she has a stylish inner layer for après ski, opting for a Fair Isle knit or a bright cashmere sweater and statement boots.”
Rivianti notes the same full-look trend at Moda Operandi. She says one of Moda’s bestsellers this season is Cordova’s gingham ski suit, which retails for $1,120 and is frequently bought alongside the matching puffer jacket ($1,090), to complete the full look.
Reaching the top
Brands and retailers know that many of their top clients congregate in these luxury ski destinations throughout the winter months, marking an opportunity to cultivate relationships with big-spending clientele. Revolve’s Mathur likens these destinations to the snow alternative of St Barths and St Tropez. “Being seen at covetable spots and dressing the part is as important as the trip itself,” she adds.
It’s why Revolve launched its first permanent store in Aspen two years before its recently opened LA space. “Our goal is always to be where our customer is,” Mathur says. “After opening our Aspen store as a pop-up in 2024, it quickly became evident that our customer is in Aspen.” Last week, Net-a-Porter hosted friends of the retailer in Big Sky, Montana, “in celebration of all things ski”, Chartrand says.
Taking things one step further, in December, Mytheresa opened Maison Mytheresa, a members-only club in St Moritz, knowing top clients would be in town. (The pop-up, open until April 2026, builds on the retailer’s Bemelmans pop-up in Aspen last year.) “This space is designed to foster exclusive engagement and deepen relationships with our top-tier clients,” Hsu says. “Rather than focusing on direct sales, Maison Mytheresa is a curated experience hub where we showcase the brand’s full lifestyle offering and create meaningful moments that go far beyond transactional interactions.”
Throughout the season, Maison Mytheresa is offering exclusive branded experiences — some snow related, some not. Ski brand Goldbergh is hosting a styling session with stylist Michela D’Angelo, but Missoni also held an eveningwear-focused trunk show in January, and in February, Tom Ford is hosting made-to-measure suiting workshops with Tom Ford tailors. Here, the luxury travel that comes with ski season is a window for Mythersa to offer personalized, money-can’t-buy experiences.
Broadening out
Still, experts caution brands against limiting their ski offerings to the top 0.1%, or even the 1%. To capture more spend, they’re better off working across price points. “A tiered approach is essential for luxury brands; offering premium and accessible products attracts aspirational consumers while maintaining brand equity,” says WGSN’s Folgner. “Top-tier items establish credibility, while entry-level options enable consumers to engage with performance narratives without diluting the brand.”
Consumers are also looking for technical outerwear that employs multi-sports systems designed to perform across activities, rather than single-sport specific garments, Folgner adds. “Consumers increasingly justify premium price points by expecting one garment to deliver between environments and seasons,” she says.
At the opposite end, brands can opt in by sidestepping technicality altogether, instead leaning into the ski aesthetic without needing to spend — or charge — thousands for innovation. Last week, The Frankie Shop shuttled Milan Fashion Week attendees to the Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics resort to celebrate the brand’s après ski collection, complete with sweater dresses, fluffy boots and even knitted hot pants.
J.Crew is also selling the ski look, rather than the gear, while adding authenticity and credibility through a partnership with ski governing body US Ski Snowboard on a capsule collection. “J.Crew has long been part of life on the slopes, so stepping into this relationship more officially felt like a natural next chapter,” says Olympia Gayot, creative director of women and children’s design for J.Crew. “We were especially drawn to the opportunity to create something for the ski community, one of the most passionate and deeply engaged out there.”
The appetite is there — even from those not clicking in their ski boots. “We’ve seen some of the highest engagement and fastest sellouts in recent history, which has been incredibly exhilarating to see,” Gayot says, noting the sweet spot between ski season and Winter Olympics fervor. “This collection gives [consumers] a way to be part of it, whether they’re on the mountain, watching from home, or simply drawn to the energy and optimism around the sport.”
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