Luxury Brands Are Courting the Wealthy at Tony Winter Resorts With Après-ski Gear, Eveningwear and Even Performances
MILAN — The ski season has officially begun and so has the rush of luxury and fashion brands flocking to the mountains to reach wealthy customers during their winter getaways.
Quiet luxury stalwart Loro Piana has opened its first pop-up in Kitzbühel, the tony destination nestled in the snow-dotted Austrian Alps, leveraged as an opportunity to spotlight its commitment to the precious fabrics.
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Shaped as a traditional Mongolian “gher,” a mobile house used by local nomadic people, the pop-up carrying the brand’s holiday collections for men and women is defined by sober decor with a wooden interior dotted with white glittered details, midnight blue walls and flooring.
Replete with an outside deck lined by lit-up Christmas trees and filled with upholstered wooden seats and tables with sheepskin throws and plaids, the space will remain open until mid-March offering Loro Piana clients a selection of après-ski gear, eveningwear and the brand’s ski capsule.
Over in Cortina d’Ampezzo on the Italian side of the Dolomites, brands and retailers are eager to capitalize on the latest successful edition of Cortina Fashion Week, the recently wrapped long weekend of events and fashion activations organized by local association “Cortina for Us.”
In keeping with its strong ties with luxury brands, local multibrand store Franz Kraler, which boasts several boutiques in the surrounding area including two units on Corso Italia, linked with several marquee names including Ferragamo, Elisabetta Franchi and Napapijri.
The Florentine house has mounted its “Winter Escape” pop-up in partnership with the retailer focusing on gifting. Accessories spanning from creative director’s Maximilian Davis’ Hug bag in multiple iterations to velvet ballerina flats take center stage.
Designer Elisabetta Franchi, herself a regular in Cortina, also picked the marquee boutique to debut her brand’s Chalet capsule collection of ski and après-ski apparel, with a dedicated corner spotlighting the brand’s ski suits and cocooning knits. At Franz Kraler’s men’s boutique next door, a steel installation highlights Napapijri’s The Archive Project collection comprising four signature outerwear pieces from the ‘90s and early 2000s.
Meanwhile Harmont & Blaine has dipped its toes into hospitality, taking over the Chalet Tofane ski lodge.
Marking the debut of a three-year partnership that stretches until the Winter Olympics to be disputed between Cortina d’Ampezzo and Milan in 2026, the Italian brand has customized furniture and décor with its signature dachshund logo scattered throughout in the form of wooden sculptures realized by local artisans.
The Chalet Tofane’s staff is poised to wear personalized uniforms mixing Harmont & Blaine’s seasonal collections, while a dedicated capsule collection is to bow in the next months, headlined by a checkered tote bag bearing the phrase “Cortina a Colori,” or “Cortina in Colors” in English.
In Courmayeur — a destination beloved by the Milanese in search of winter getaways at the feet of the Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe — MSGM unveiled a similar partnership with the renowned Auberge de La Maison chalet.
A regular of the ski resort, designer Massimo Giorgetti organized a brand experience at the location to mark the drop of a three-piece capsule collection, which comprises a forest green sweatshirt bearing the slogan “Auberge de MSGM [Hotel of MSGM ” flanked by alpine flowers and fair isle knit and beanie.
Known for its relative proximity to first-tier cities in Northern Italy, Courmayeur was the winter destination of choice also for BasicNet-owned brand K-Way, which for the 2024-25 season is taking over the Loge Du Massif mountaintop chalet, decking it in the brand’s signature blue, orange and yellow taping.
Retail partner LuisaViaRoma linked with K-Way as part of its recurring LuisaViaRoma Escapes project, on a brand experience in the destination to spotlight the fashion company’s latest skiwear collection.
On the Swiss face of the Alps, in Saint Moritz, the five-starred Hotel des Bains Kenpinski is on a roll, further courting its wealthy clientele.
The hotel has recently unveiled a new suite-like boutique from knitwear brand Cruciani. The latter is kicking off its next phase with the store opening in the tony destination, after successfully emerging from a composition with creditors procedure under new owner Orlean Invest Holding.
At the beginning of December, the luxury hospitality player also welcomed a new addition to its restaurant offering, with the opening of Billonaire, the concept by Italian entrepreneur Flavio Briatore that blends fine dining, with a menu curated by chef Batuhan Piatti, and entertainment with a show art directed by Irma Di Paola featuring dancers, singers and performance artists.
Signaling that the fascination for tony winter destinations is still going strong, Elie Saab announced this week a new hospitality project in Andermatt, in the heart of the Swiss Alps.
Developed in partnership with architectural studio and Swiss developer A++ Group, the Post Hotel & Residences by Elie Saab will bow in 2027 marking the fashion brand’s first foray into hotels.
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