Performance apparel for skiing and snowboarding: making a more comfortable and safer experience

30 pages, published in Issue 15, 4th quarter 2005   Report price: Euro 395.00; US$ 520.00

Developments over the last two decades in technical fabrics as well as improvements in equipment have contrived to make skiing and snowboarding more comfortable, easier to learn and safer. Waterproof, breathable fabrics are the cornerstone of the industry?s outerwear but there have also been developments in moisture wicking and odour control for base layers, as well as improvements to the insulating mid-layer.

Fashion is the key driver of sales in the skiing and snowboarding apparel market. The advent of a separate style of clothing for snow-boarders heralded a host of new companies starting up in the 1980s and 1990s to cater to this market. Now, the sport has an expanding range of different styles of skiing, such as free skiing, all with youth appeal and which have been borne out of the 1980s snowboarding phenomenon. These new styles have spurred companies into designing apparel with different features and styles to appeal to each segment of the market. Around 60 mn people worldwide take part in skiing or snowboarding each year. In the USA a total of US$2.25 bn was spent in the 2004/05 season in a country with around 11 mn skiers?representing almost a fifth of the global total.

Future opportunities for ski and snowboard apparel lie in the development of skiing in China. The country now has 200 ski areas but its industry is still in its infancy. Elsewhere, there is interest from manufacturers and consumers in the use of interactive technologies and other smart fabrics in ski wear. Currently, the focus is on the female market and designing products specifically for women. But while innovative firms can take advantage of fashion and opportunities afforded by changes in the sport, they can not take control of one of its biggest threats?global warming. According to a United Nations report, hundreds of ski resorts will go out of business because of global warming.

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Performance apparel represents one of the fastest growing sectors of the international textile and clothing industry ? and market growth is being fuelled by the emergence of new fibres, new fabrics and innovative process technologies. The market is also being boosted by changes in consumer lifestyles. People are living longer and spending more time on leisure activities. New high-tech fabrics are being developed for a wide range of active sports such as aerobics, athletics, ballooning, cycling, hiking, mountaineering, parachuting, sailing, skiing, snowboarding, swimming, and windsurfing.
Exciting innovations are emerging in smart textiles and nanotechnology ? and the sector?s growth prospects are helped by the trend in increasing demand for performance features in mainstream fashion.
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