What Does Gucci Know About Ski Gear? (EXCLUSIVE)
When Gucci tries its hand at creating ski gear, it starts at the peak. Gucci Altitude is not only the house’s first winter sportswear collection to be built entirely in-house, but an ambitious entry point into real-deal skiwear.
Where previous Gucci winter capsules of this style were focused on après-ski, this one is proper performance apparel. As such, it debuts with a campaign that stars Jannik Sinner, a Gucci ambassador and tennis all-star who just so happened to be a junior ski champion in his youth.
As such, the Italian luxury label isn’t merely monogramming a few shell jackets. It devised specialty finishings suitable for the slopes, including various materials entirely new to Gucci’s practice.
Breathable 3-layer membranes and water-resistant finishes provide as much utility as anything from conventional outdoors brands, while nifty little details like ski-pass pockets and touchscreen interiors demonstrate the breadth of thought at play. This is not just skiwear gone Gucci but Gucci gone skiwear.
However, the monogram is very much sitting pretty.
From the waterproof jackets to the actual skis — the latter being part of Gucci’s longstanding HEAD collaboration, which began with tennis gear toted by Sinner — Gucci’s logo motif is all but the focal point of Gucci Altitude. Aside from the ski gear of it all, of course.
This new line is a move befitting of Demna, Gucci's new creative director who previously introduced skiwear to Balenciaga. (Note that the Georgian designer had no hand in this debut collection as it was created prior to Demna taking over Gucci).
Gucci may be blazing its own trail down the slopes, but it’s also following a well-trod backcountry previously explored by peers like Fendi, which has been engineering ski apparel for over a decade, Balenciaga, which ventured into skiwear in 2023, and Moncler, the original slope-friendly luxury label.
Of course, Gucci has dabbled with casual ski gear for some time. Previously, it ventured onto the powder with The North Face. But, now, Gucci is assured enough to achieve the black diamond of ski gear: hardwearing gear as tough as it is luxe.
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