SIA Snow Show ’13 Preview: Kids performance wear

Leading up to the SIA Snow Show, SNEWS is previewing new trends and products you’ll see at the trade show in Denver, Jan. 31-Feb. 3. Today, we take a take a look at the latest in kids performance wear. All these stories also can be found in the print or digital flipbook edition of our Snow Show Preview.

As more companies recognizing opportunity in the junior market, kids’ outerwear gets increasingly sophisticated and performance based, thanks to a trickle-down effect of technologies from the adult collections.

Snow Dragons and Rossignol have both doubled the number of waterproof offerings in their kids’ lines, while companies like Sunice have increased the level of waterproofing. Obermeyer boasts a minimum 10K/10K waterproof-breathable fabric from teen to toddler styles, and Burton brings more technical fabrics from its adult line into youth. The company’s Minishred outerwear features new eco-friendly Aquapel. Key sales point: the performance of this innovative fabric increases with washing.

For the junior Radar Jacket, Orage borrowed chimney-vent technology from its technical backcountry styles. The North Face brings its FlashDry moisture-regulating technology, launched last season for adults, to kids’ base and midlayers. In its junior lineup, Spyder employs a brushed-metal overlay film for anti-abrasion and design aesthetics.

Puffy jackets go high tech, too. Marmot launches Down Defender, 700 fill and water-resistant, across its kids’ collection. Patagonia’s Girls Hi-Loft Down Sweater Hoody combines a windproof shell with 600-fill goose down.



Marmot Freerider

Double-duty jackets like Obermeyer’s lightly insulated Beck component piece, with a stylish snap-in fleece, add value. The North Face anticipates a hot-ticket item with its Reversible Mossbud Swirl Jacket for girls, which includes a luxurious high-loft fleece.



Fit is another big story. “The baggy look has lost its prevalence,” says Adam Garry, president of AFRC Outdoor Gear, Inc., owner of Boulder Gear and Snow Dragons. More companies are introducing a slimmer, more traditional ski fit, including Bonfire’s Derby Pant, as well as skinny silhouettes from Patagonia, Rossignol, Spyder, and Marker.

The retro look moves into junior lines, as styles like Descente’s new Element Junior Insulate jacket sports an old-school look and color combinations, and Marmot’s girl’s Zermatt features color combos and a retro-feel sleeve stripe.



Descente Element Junior

Junior outerwear continues to add bells and whistles like glow-in-the-dark trims or headphone-wire-compatible zipper pulls. Rossignol jackets have removable helmet-friendly hoods and ski pass pockets. The North Face adds built-in goggle cloths and reflectivity. Grow-to-fit cuffs, which lengthen pant legs and sleeves from 1 to 2 inches, are now used by nearly all companies in certain styles.

As for color, pink and blue are passé, upstaged by vivid hues, neons, fun prints, textures, and plaids. Especially for young nippers, bright, vibrant colors appear in styles from Snow Dragons, Bonfire, Rossignol, and Obermeyer, while Sessions, Liquid Boardwear, Orage, Spyder, and Sunice incorporate fluorescent and neon.

Companies like Marker, Marmot, and Orage offer bright solids with color pops in snaps, trims, and zipper pulls. Eider’s stylish junior line mimics its adult collections with elements like faux-fur lined hoods, letting retailers merchandise products together.

Völkl’s junior outerwear focuses on fun prints like the oversized flower pattern on the girl’s Nanja Jacket. Sunice introduces a wild geometric pattern in its boys Phenom Pant, and Rossignol’s Boy’s Cargo PR Pant features an eye-popping geometric-inspired print.

“Color blocking creates options for mixing pants with a variety of jackets,” says Bonfire’s product line manager, Amy Eichner. It appears in jackets like Orage’s Ally, Liquid Boardwear’s Corvin, and Marmot’s Moonstruck. Marker’s Boy’s Scotty Jacket uses color blocking and color-pop trims with a retro twist. Burton’s youth collection includes bold color blocking, too.



Burton Boys Uproar

Texture, key in Orage’s adult line, is being built into top-end junior pieces like the Girl’s Nala and Boy’s Craft jackets. Also pulling down from its adult line is Bonfire with its Shadow Weave fabric, and heathered yarns add texture to Sunice’s Zoe Pant.

And everyone, it seems, is still mad for plaid. Rossignol, Liquid Boardwear, The North Face, and Boulder Gear are playing with checks, and Patagonia’s junior line features mid- to large-scale plaids for a streetwear feel. “Plaid remains hot for 13/14,” says Boulder Gear’s Garry. “We can’t get away from it.”

These are just a few of the new products to debut at the show. Be sure to check out many more new products and trends in the Snow Show Daily, published live at the show, and available digital format each following day of print on SNEWS.



–Helen Olsson