When the aprés-ski look of the 1950s was still all the talk in fashion, Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) kept its readers up to date in its “They Are Wearing” column. Staying abreast of the latest trend-setting styles at popular winter resort destinations from Colorado such as Aspen and Vail to Sun Valley, Idaho and Stowe, Vermont, in America, and St.Moritz and Gstaad in Switzerland. For the daily’s editors in 1962, it was the resort town of Sugarbush, Vermont that set the tone for ski fashion in the North, with designer pieces from Pucci topping the list of must-haves for style on the slopes.
Slope fashion in Sun Valley, Idaho, 1974.
WWD
The new generation of skiers that emerge in the 1970s embraced bursts of vibrant color, head-to-toe black, metallics, prints and plaids in the same era when fashion icons, celebrity and socialites mingled with locals at aprés-ski hangouts and discotheques. In 1974, WWD photographed actress Janet Leigh and daughters Kelly and Jaimie Lee Curtis, a soon to be star, in Sun Valley.
Janet Leigh (C) Kelly Curtis (L) and Jaimie Lee Curtis (R) in Sun Valley, Idaho, 1975. Fairchild Archive/WWD
WWD
Fast forward decades later and fashionable ski wear continues to transcend pure functionality, making its way to the runway via luxury ski-wear brands Bogner and Moncler, as well as iconic heritage brands and leaders in outdoor performance wear, Patagonia, Helly Hansen and The North Face. The enduring popularity of the Winter Olympic Games — taking place in Milano Cortina in 2026 — and the rise of ski and snowboarding culture inspire the next generation of cold-weather enthusiasts.
From WWD and Fairchild Archive, here is look back at “They Are Wearing” fashion on the slopes—from Aspen to Vail—in the 1970s.
