I know that the terms "British based" and "winter sports apparel" doesn't automatically inspire the degree of confidence needed to buy an outer layer coat that will know will do the job on the slopes. While we are used to the major brand's attention to warmth, technical detail, and innate coolness on and off the snow I think it won't be long before you will be seeing that same trust extended to the British upstart, Faiise.
Faiise Sking Clothing
Faiise (pronounced 'Phase') is the brainchild of Samantha (Sam) Bevan, a British born fashion designer with 10 years experience designing outerwear and technical sportswear. An avid skier for over 10 years Sam saw a market for a clothing line that would meld all that is hot and cool about jackets and pants favored by snowboarders with the technical demands serious skiers have for their outerwear - and be cool in the apres-ski world as well.
Trying to bring these two disciplines together in clothing comfortable to everybody is indeed an honest quest. I know I don't have to look far to find a teenage skier that thinks the loose, hooded and brightly colored combinations are so cool. Yet, is still a little inhibited to go all out "boarder."
'Bingo' as we say here in America, - I think the Faiise 08-09 jacket line is the closest I've seen to creating a jacket that fills the fashion bill for people of both disciplines. Cool, but warm and functional on the snow as well as off - and this goes for the men's line as well as the more demanding women's wear. this I can attest to because I have been wearing the "Bill" model around town at night and on the snow.
Fashion and Function
Actually, I wore the Bill on Newberry Street, Boston's high fashion shopping mecca - and got several positive comments and inquires about Bill and the same when I wore it to the Boston Ski and Snowboard Expo. I also wore the fashionably quilted, removable insulator that comes standard with the Bill and other models.
All the Faisse's products debuting season have proper names. The Ladies line opens with the Joyce, Ellen, Edith, and Betty jackets and a Tilly pant. The men's offering is an Arthur and Bill jacket and a Alex pant.
Faisse on the Ski Slopes
The weekend I took the "Bill" jacket to Boston, it was unseasonably cold and I wore it with the insulator on and the hood up and was very comfortable. I skied in the Bill at Killington, VT on a windy, cold day, and was again warm and comfortable and this is what it's really all about. There's a nice feeling of freedom of movement without allowing drafts and that's where the snowboarding angle has moved into the design. Yet, waiting for the lift or at rest the Bill holds a fashionable line, not bunched up from the skiing.
The Bill comes with a grown-on hood, chest pocket with detachable embossed sunglass case, below the chest and lower pockets, and velcro cuff adjusters. More specifics include a fixed snow skirt, hem and hood adjusters, internal iPod, security and phone pockets, separate balaclava, a dropped tail hem, pit vents, fleece lined pockets, and a lift pass pocket on the arm.
As you can see the technicals are well thought out and the colors are muted and it has a nice loose fit but with the insulator it stays very warm the grown on hood may seem cumbersome to those used to a detachable. But on a day of sub-zero wind chill you quickly appreciate the ease of pulling it over you head and an attached hood is quickly becoming a regular feature on certain models of the already popular brands.
Going Green
The jackets and pants are 47% polyester and 53% recycled PET dobby. PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is a plastic used to make soda and juice bottles and can be recycled into the construction of fabrics and carpet fibers. Faiise's commitment to using PET is exemplary and the quality of the jacket I've seen attests to what can done to help the planet and still be fashionable and functional.
I haven't worn, nor seen, any of the Faiise pants products in this country yet but if the form and fashion of the men's Alex pants follow in the footsteps of the Bill jacket they should be a good product, but ski and riding pants get held to a higher standard of wear so we'll wait and see on that one.
Right now, Faisse products are only available in North America through the Faiise web site, but I'm sure the availability will expand once the industry sees the value. for the Bill jacket the retail is 295 British Pounds - but the money exchange is going in our favor right now and even converted that's not a bad price for a fashionable, functional product with a wearable separate insulator.
