December is the month when thoughts turn to ski slopes, gentle Alpine flurries and healthy active holidays under blue skies. For Dubliner Erin Flynn, who started skiing with her parents and two brothers in Austria when she was six years old, that passion for the sport and a love of fashion have resulted in a new Irish skiwear brand she calls Nua Rua (new red) “no fadas and easy to pronounce”, she says, smiling.
Her sporting credentials as an avid skier and ski instructor as well as five years’ experience in the fashion industry as a buyer in Primark and then in River Island have given her a special insight into the requirements for comfort and functionality as well as a clear style perspective so, with this collection, she says, “I am combining the athletic with the aesthetic”.
She argues that fashionable options for female skiers are limited. “There are stylish options for women who don’t really ski but are there for the Instagram moment – these may look good but are not technical – and then there are the serious skiers who don’t care how they dress because they are ‘real skiers’. I take skiing and looking good seriously.”
Hers is an interchangeable collection of nine pieces designed for both beginners and pros consisting of three jackets (leopard print, neutral and pink/red) and six different trousers designed to match. Each jacket with 10 per cent elastane, is waterproof, breathable and washable, filled with 100 per cent responsibly sourced down padding, “really light and very compressible”, she says, demonstrating that by squeezing it into a soft ball. All five pockets are zipped (for ski pass, wallet, phone, goggles, sunscreen and so on), there are storm cuffs and a funnel collar for wind chill, taped seams and a snow skirt on the inside.
The trousers have a stretch waist, fleece lining, snow gaiters and special sculptural panels on the bum. “A lot of trousers are unflattering on the bum – this one looks as good as it feels and sucks you in, so it is quite tight,” she says, spreading out the trousers to show the details.
For beginners, the general basic skiwear kit is a jacket and ski trousers (one of each), ski socks (one for every day), thermal tops (2-4), mid-layer fleece, gloves, thermal leggings, goggles and a helmet. She points out that helmets can be rented at one’s ski destination, adding that both good and inexpensive goggles and helmets can be also found in Aldi, though she wears POC goggles, “which I think are the best”.
Flynn is a Trinity College Dublin graduate in economics and sociology, and her teenage years were spent racing on the slopes in Kilternan and Italy. Her school guidance counsellor in Loreto Foxrock, knowing her love of fashion, encouraged her to work in fashion buying. After graduation, an internship at Primark was followed by nearly three years in London as an outerwear buyer for River Island.
“It was a great learning curve, as I learned so many things about construction, trimmings, linings, fillings and outer shells and worked with factories in China,” she says. When the idea of starting her own brand took hold, she left River Island, did a ski season in Saalbach, a course in project management and started a business plan.
“The concept of my collection is that it is both stylish and functional, and is built to last the test of time. Every jacket has at least two different trousers which can be slim or straight leg, to match, so that if you buy two sets, you can have four different outfits.” Sizes are from XS-XL, 6-20, and jackets are €440, trousers €220. To find out more about the collection, how to style it and the technical benefits, visit ruanua.com or @ruanuaofficial.
Still on the subject of ski wear, Welsh fashion designer Julien MacDonald has collaborated with UK’s Dare2b on a skiwear collection consisting of a ski jacket (€390), baffle jacket (€300) and salopettes snowsuit €420. Find them online at dare2b.ie and in select Regatta stores nationwide.
