Olympian secrets to the perfect ski jacket: How Tomoya Ishii helped inform Goldwin’s innovative collection
We catch up with the Tokyo-based field tester to discuss his on-mountain priorities, Goldwin’s newest collection and what to look for in high-end skiwear.
Born and raised in the Hokkaido city of Utashinai, Tomoya Ishii took up skiing at the age of two and made his first national team in junior high school. Competing in slalom events, he spent half a decade racing in Goldwin apparel, including at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018, before retiring in 2022.
Ishii now works in Goldwin’s Tokyo-based marketing department as one of a handful of former Olympians among the company’s ranks, involved in fieldtesting its growing skiwear collections. They include Oyabe, a new range for this winter that pays homage to the small town where the company was founded in 1950 as a knitwear factory.
The 25-piece range goes against the broader sector’s fast-paced production methods, with limited quantities and the use of innovative, natural materials. We have our eye on the 3L jacket, crafted with a wool-fibre material and featuring a helmet-compatible hood, as well as a women’s cropped down jacket, which has a relaxed fit despite high-volume, 900-fill-power goose-down insulation. Here, Ishii tells Monocle about Goldwin’s foray into high-end skiwear and what to look out for when investing in your alpine wardrobe.
What are your priorities when you’re testing new collections?
What matters most is being able to ski comfortably all day long. One of the key features of Goldwin apparel is its incredibly high levels of comfort and movement. From the moment you put on one of the jackets, there’s no stress because of restricted movements.
How does the Oyabe collection bring Goldwin’s high-performance apparel for competition use to a broader audience?
It takes the functionality of high-performance wear and combines it with a lifestyle element, allowing it to be worn stylishly in an après setting. One thing that stands out is the beauty of the silhouettes. Until now, skiwear has generally been designed with a sole emphasis on on-slope comfort. Here, we also considered other scenes from the outset, which resulted in new ideas, such as the balloon silhouette. The designs are minimal but all the essentials are there.
What should we look for when shopping for high-end skiwear?
It should have a lot of attention to detail, even in a garments’ unseen parts. The Oyabe collection offers designs for people who are seeking out something a little different.
