How Ski Fashion Raised the Visibility of Skiing and Snowboarding

City Park The model paraded in front of the Alf Engen Ski Museum, looking like Sylvester Stalone in Urban Cowboy, but more glamorous.

The wide collar of his lightly padded white jacket came to a point at shoulder level. Strips of blue denim and red gingham accented the triangular snap pockets and wide cuffs, which gave way to fiery red leather workman's gloves. Underneath the outfit, made by Levis in 1977, were fitted, boot-cut denim overalls.

Skiing in jeans has never been so attractive.

Every winter, ski resorts and industry associations spend countless dollars on marketing and promotions to get people to take up the sport. Sometimes, however, the same task can be accomplished by something as simple as a nice coat or well-fitting stretch pants, perhaps in a blue denim pattern.

I don't know if people think of fashion or fashion shows as promoting skiing, but they do, Barbara Alley Simon, aka the First Lady of Ski Fashion, once said.

Seeing beautiful people in attractive outfits certainly attracts attention, and it is my personal belief that stretch pants played a big role in the development of skiing. Everyone there was sexy and wanted to try this new sport of skiing.

Decades after her own fashion shows brought national attention to slope styles, Alley Simon sat front row Wednesday watching dozens of vintage and vibrant outfits she donated to the museum parade down the runway. Other sets, some blindingly bright neons, some combining classic colors and chevrons, came from the designer. Wini Joneswho also served as MC of events, and private collectors.

More than 200 people, many of whom have previously held roles in the ski fashion industry, attended the show, which had a dual purpose. It kicked off Ski History Week and raised funds for a Renovation of the museum worth $388,000 this, in part, leaves room for the display of more vintage ski clothing.

The clothing exhibition already occupies pride of place at the entrance to the museum. It coincides with what Connie Nelson, the outgoing ski museums director, said is a close relationship between ski fashion and the sport's popularity.

Ski fashion really helped raise awareness of the sport, she said, and encouraged people to go out and have fun in these great outfits.

Alley Simon got her start in the fashion industry through events like this. With the encouragement of Jerry Simon, a promoter and United States Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame inductee who would become her husband, she held her first fashion show at a ski show. The shows grew in size and complexity, moving from models to models to skilled dancers. She eventually created a television tour called Whats New in Skiwear that ran for 11 years and earned appearances on the Today show and Oprah.

In 2020, she joined Simon in the Hall of Fame when she was inducted as a builder of the sport.

My favorites were fabulous and colorful, Alley Simon told The Tribune on Wednesday. Parkinson's disease has left her weaker than when she was on tour, but she still lights up when she talks about the creations. But they also had to be technically sound, because they have to keep you warm.

That's what made winter clothing so interesting for Jones.

She designed for Roffe Ski Wear for 30 years before retiring in 1996. Now vice president of the Ski History Association, she offered a behind-the-scenes look at the design process. One day, she said, she asked 3M for an insulated stretch fabric. They gave him a lighter version of a filter they had made to fit over a car engine.

In her efforts to create portable, functional works of art, however, she encountered a few obstacles.

Retailers wanted to make outfits neon, for example, because the colors faded so quickly that after a week on display, the front was a different shade than the back. Working with someone called Senior Bunny Mother at a Playboy club in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, led her to design her popular cutout bust jumpsuit. And one day, after buying thousands of yards of a nylon print for an outfit that wasn't selling well, she said she had no choice but to take it to an umbrella company.

In addition to being at the forefront of the fashion industry for ski wear, Alley Simon and Jones could be considered at the forefront of a growing wave of female participation in winter sports.

Over the past decade, women have accounted for about 40 percent of resort visits by skiers and riders, according to statistics from the National Ski Areas Association and the Snowsports Industry Association. However, the overall number of visits increased, which SIA said in 2016 represented a 7% increase in female participation. Moreover, 60% of new skiers last year were womenaccording to the NSAA.

Nelson said there's probably a reason luxury brands like Coach And Prada now sell ski and snowboard equipment, and why shiny, even iridescent, fabrics and one-piece ski suits are making a comeback on the slopes.

The products go where the money is, Nelson said.

[Fashion] brought attention to the sport because it's fun, she added. And that could have really encouraged a lot of women to try it, because it's generally considered a man's sport, and it's not. It's for all of us.

Maybe ski fashion isn't just a fashion. Maybe it's in our jeans.

The Alf Engen Ski Museum is seeking donations to help fund its two-phase expansion, the first phase of which is underway. Visit engenmuseum.org make a donation.