With the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics starting in less than three weeks, ski and après-ski have been the no-brainer inspirations for many men’s collections parading in the Italian fashion capital.
But Swiss luxury brand Bally, founded in 1851, comes to this mountain story with heaps of credibility and history, having outfitted adventurers with gripping footwear for Mount Everest climbs since forever, and having supplied curling boots for the Swiss team in the 1956 Winter Olympics, for example.
Cue its “Alpine Collection,” hinged on shearling and down outerwear, boots that laugh at cold and slush, and tote bags and backpacks in curly shearling or logo quilting, in line with the fall season’s obsession with texture.
“We have an amazing archive and it’s really inspiring the design team,” Mario Grauso, operating partner of Regent’s fashion and luxury group, Bally’s parent, said during a walk-through with WWD.
The team installed about 20 looks on a round dais, and tacked vintage advertising posters and expedition photos around the presentation space, some depicting ski footwear that inspired the chic, shearling-trimmed hiking boots that finished many of the ensembles.
Archival prints of snow-covered conifers and cross-country skiers added visual zing to puffer jackets and sweaters, as did its signature “B” motif, showing up as intarsia on shearling coats, an enveloping knitted cape or a jaunty scarf.
Grauso noted that men’s represents the largest part of Bally’s business, and the brand still produces many of its products in Switzerland, levering its craftsmanship and legacy of performance-driven design.
Historically, Norway, the United States and Germany tend to take home the most medals during Winter Olympics. Let’s see who wins the fashion games once all this ski-inspired merch hits the stores.
