COLMAR DEEPENS SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS FOR FALL 2021
Colmar has been producing high-tech and specialty garments since it established in 1923 by Mario and Irma Colombo. And, the pioneering ski-race clothing brand is still a third-generation family business.
In the Italian brand’s recent history, it has explored its research in technical and performing fabrics. Important collaborations have started with companies such as Directa Plus, which produces Graphene (Colmar was the first company to apply it on a fabric), and with designers of international fame like Au Jour le Jour, Shayne Oliver, and White Mountaineering.
Now, for its fall/winter 2021 collection, the brand is presenting new looks in all three of its collections, Colmar Originals, Colmar Ski, and Colmar A.G.E. (Advanced Garment Exploration), which has a new designer each year.
For Colmar Originals, the company has produced a versatile and minimalist collection. The color palette this season plays with tones of petrol green and burgundy for him, and various shades of purple and green for her. These colors can be seen across the collection, along with black, blue, white, and grey, in pieces like short and sleeveless jackets for him made from rip-stop fabric with a rich hand and a slightly embossed effect.
What’s most exciting for Colmar Originals this season, is the introduction of eco-friendly pieces made using recycled materials. The fabrics used are obtained from yarns with a semi-shiny appearance in biodegradable nylon. This particular composition allows a garment to decompose in five years if thrown out. The jackets are filled with soft down-effect padding, which is 100 percent recycled and waterproof. The zips, in contrasting colors, are made from nylon which is also biodegradable. The men’s and women’s offering in this line also uses other types of sustainable fabrics made from cut-offs of polyamide from pre- and post-use, regenerated, reformulated textiles. The logo is tone-on-tone and is made from eco-sustainable silicone.
As for Colmar Ski, the Italian brand proposes a futuristic design with innovation, technicality, and comfort at the center of this collection. In particular, from this season, the use of two anti-viral technologies are introduced. The first is used in FYC material, which is a highly advanced fabric with specific antibacterial properties thanks to the combined action of silver yarn. The second technology is HeiQ Vioblock, a textile solution developed in Switzerland which interrupts the behavior of bacteria and germs on fabrics.
Colmar Ski is also continuing along its sustainable path which began in past seasons. The fall/winter ‘21 collection sees the inclusion of new fabrics which are 100 percent made from recycled polyester, accompanied by padded filling which is also 100 or 93 percent obtained from materials that are also recycled. Lastly, the Teflon EcoElite water-repellent treatment, which has been present in the Colmar family for a few seasons, is now used on twelve different types of fabric.
The fall Ski collection is completed by a young and contemporary capsule collection, designed for him and her, which plays on all the shades of denim. In particular two jackets in 100 percent recycled polyester stretch fabric have been created with a soft inner lining of graphene. The first piece has a quilting effect with a soft down filling, the other in 85 percent recycled fiber padding. The offer is completed by overalls for him and her, trousers and overalls with a front bib with a vintage flavor, also made from 100 percent recycled polyester.
And, for the brand’s hyper-modern fashion label focused on experimentation and product innovation, known as Colmar A.G.E., acclaimed Iranian designer Morteza Vaseghi has been tapped as creative director for this season. Vaseghi is most known for his publishing projects Recens Paper and Wallet that he co-founded with cultural entrepreneur Elise By Olsen. Translating his fascination with conceptual thinking from the paper of the printed pages to dressing the human body, Vaseghi applies a laboratory approach to his fashion practice. Under Vaseghi’s creative direction, Colmar A.G.E. introduces futuristic organic forms that could translate an advanced vision of the holistic coexistence between humankind and nature.
“To be invited in as creative director and to create a collection for a brand like Colmar is a great honour,” says Vaseghi. “I’m excited to delve into Colmar’s unique legacy with a sharp conceptual approach, translating the brand archives for a contemporary time and audience. I would like to thank everyone at Manifattura Mario Colombo and Colmar for trusting my vision and seeing it through.”
“We are pleased to embrace the vision of Morteza’s styles and graphics on our most known products,” adds Giulio Colombo, CEO of Colmar. “Colmar is a family company with a futuristic perspective. We are close to celebrating our 100th birthday and we are aware of the direction consumers are expecting from us: a freer approach with a focus on the environment. That’s why we enjoyed the idea of having a creative director who decided to rework our heritage through circular fabrics, a very sensitive topic for young generations.”
