Outdoor Retailer takes sustainability to the slopes for Snow Show 2019

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jan 29, 2019

Outdoor trade fair Outdoor Retailer is limbering up for its annual January Snow Show, which is set to open in Denver on Wednesday, kicking off a schedule featuring panels, workshops and a reconceptualized fashion show demonstrating the latest in snow sportswear.
 

This January, returning brands such as The North Face, Patagonia, Oakley and Adidas Outdoor will be joined on the trade show’s ever-expanding list of exhibitors by UK-based Superdry for the first time ever.
 
This year’s fashion show, which has the theme “Where Outdoor Meets Snow”, will examine the snow sports fashions for the Fall/Winter 2019-20 season and take place in the fair’s “Trend + Design Center.”  

For 2019, Outdoor Retailer has come up with a new format for the annual fashion show, which will take place four times over the course of the three-day event, aiming to help buyers make better informed decisions by combining the runway show with educational trend presentations.  
 
The new structure will therefore involve a 30-minute fashion show, followed by a 30-minute trend presentation and a Q&A session allowing buyers to get a closer look at the show pieces, also lasting 30 minutes.
 
Along with the main fashion show sponsored by Promostyl Paris, there will be two other shows: “Sport and Fashion Telescoping + Kick-Off Trends FW20/21” led by director of INMOUV Sport trend bureau Yvon Berenguer and Adrian Verin, INMOUV’s head of business development and international sales, and “Mapping the Trail: Style Trends That Matter for Outdoor,” presented by Fast Forward Trending’s Haysun Hahn.
 
The Snow Show will also play host to a number of panels and workshops covering a range of topics from digital brand transformation to diversity in corporate leadership. Many of these events though will be focusing on sustainability and environmental issues, such as the “Reduce, Reuse and Repair Workshop” and the “Small Batch Sustainability” panel being held in the fair’s “The Ranger Station” space, or the discussion entitled “The Current State of Climate Change & How the Outdoor Industry Can Help,” slated to take place at “The Camp” on the morning of Thursday, January 31.  
The issue of inclusivity in the outdoor industry is also on the agenda and will be addressed by the panel “Everyone's Outdoors: Five Minutes, One Bold Idea,” a discussion featuring Camber Outdoors executive director Deanne Buck, Coalition Snow CEO Jen Gurecki, founder and director emeritus of Latino Outdoors José González, and self-proclaimed “backcountry queen” Pattie Gonia.
 
The trade fair’s Scandinavian Village will also be returning, giving attendees the opportunity to discover outdoor labels from Northern Europe while taking part in activations or enjoying a traditional Scandinavian coffee break.
 
Aside from its Snow Show, Outdoor Retailer also hosts a Summer and a Winter Market in Denver, in June and November, respectively.
 
The Outdoor Retailer Snow Show 2019 runs January 30 through February 1 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.