Rossignol Apparel Unveils Collaboration With Damir Doma
Rossignol Apparel is showing that it's more than just a ski brand.
The French Rossignol Group's division that launched in December 2015 will unveil a special collaboration at Pitti Uomo that is tied into cycling.
The brand teamed with designer Damir Doma to launch “Urban Mobility,” a series of products that are drawn from the brand's spring 2019 collection, including men's and women's pieces.
Doma's selection of 60 pieces is inspired by the world of cycling and follows Rossignol Group's recent acquisitions of bicycle specialists Time Sport and Felt Bicycles, and the launch of a bike line. These moves are intended to augment its successful ski business by building a summer sports segment.
“Damir definitely offered us an international point of view. He demonstrated he was extremely respectful of the DNA of the brand, not overstretching it, and at the same time was keen to translate it in the apparel collection,” said Rossignol Apparel chief executive officer Alessandro Locatelli. “He showed he was very curious about the brand and interested in what has been done so far.”
“Urban jungle, escapism, new spirituality, travel, functionality are some of the key words defining our times and they actually served as inspiration for this collection,” said Doma, who is a bike lover himself.
Referencing the world of e-mountain bikes, the designer combined an ath-leisure attitude with streetwear references to develop a high-tech lineup of innovative pieces, which guarantee performances and an urban style.
Working with Rossignol's signature color palette of red, white, blue, black and gray, Doma designed a range of functional and cool outerwear pieces crafted from high-end fabrics from the Reda Active collection.
These include “Performance Wool,” a compact fiber combined with a membrane that make the garments breathable and water-resistant, along with the “Wool in the Dark,” a double-faced wool fabric that has a membrane of fluorescent pigments that charge in the sun and glow in the dark.
Part of the brand’s spring
2019 lineup, the “Urban Mobility” collection celebrates the cycling world.
Along with the outerwear, the collection includes knitwear, tracksuits, sweatshirts with a double hood, pants, shorts and T-shirts embellished with the words “hero” and “soul.” In addition, the brand's signature rooster logo was reinterpreted to become the quilted pattern motif of a nylon jacket.
The “Urban Mobility” collection, along with the brand's full spring 2019 line, will be available at multibrand stores, on the company's online store and at the 10 Rossignol Apparel shops in Oslo, Lyon, Megève, Chamonix, Crans-Montana, St. Moritz, Courmayeur, Méribel, Val Thorens and Courchevel.
“We are quite happy with the results so far,” said Locatelli. “All the channels are performing well and since the launch of the apparel division three years ago, the revenues have tripled,” he added, revealing that sales are expected to exceed 40 million euros in 2019 and 50 million euros by 2020.
According to Locatelli, the Alpine countries, including France, Italy, Switzerland and Austria, are the brand's best-performing markets, accounting for 60 percent of the company's total business. “At the same time, we started doing business in Scandinavia, where our parent group has opened subsidiaries, and in the United States where we debuted with the fall
2018 collection.”
In addition, on Monday, Rossignol Group, which controls Dynastar skis,
Look bindings, Lange Boots, Kerma poles and Risport figure skates, inked a deal with American private equity fund IDG Capital to sell a 20 percent stake in the group. The funds are expected to help finance the group's entry into China, which will host the Winter Olympic
Games in 2022. ■