PARK CITY, Utah — The International Skiing History Association took a wildly colorful trip... or run... down memory lane near Park City this week, just ahead of the group's big award ceremony.
On the slopes of any Utah mountain, skiers and snowboarders are starting to wind down for the season, focusing more on form than on fashion; but once a year at the Alf Engan Ski Musuem it's style over substance.
"We're going to show off some of our artifacts that we house in our archive room and also have out in our museum," said Connie Nelson, the museum's Executive Director
For many, the museum's fashion show featuring hundreds of its old ski outfits triggers a flood of memories.
From western (hats included) to the neon of the seventies and eighties, there was a lot to catch the eye.
"It does attract attention, and if you want to attract attention, bright colors are a good idea," said Seth Masia, President of the International Skiing History Association.
Back in the day, it was how you looked on the slopes, not function.
"It became a romantic, exciting sexual industry," explained Brian Fairbank, Chairman of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.
But there was one item that dominated the industry.
Stretch pants.
"There'd been nobody being dressed like that out doing an athletic event," Fairbank said.
"Let's face it," added Masia, "when you're young, they make you look good."
While some of the looks were definitely blasts from the pasts, some of the designs are making a comeback on today's mountains.
"They're coming back. Moon boots are back, the onesies are back. It's like it's all coming back," exclaimed Nelson.
The show was great fun to watch, and it's seeing smiles on the faces of all those watching when you realize it's not about neon or stretch pants or crazy patterns; it's about the history, and that makes every fabric, feature or fashion faux pas an example of a memory in each person who was on hand.
"It really is a part of our heritage," said Fairbank, "that we want to protect and remember."
