Women's sportswear incubator grows in South Tyrol
Special designs, special fabrics and ad-hoc details in brands that were created for sportswear, from LaMunt to Sher. And that also emphasise circularity and sharing
In 1859, 'Mrs. Henry Warwick Cole' set off on an exploration of Monte Rosa. In the book she dedicated to the undertaking, in addition to describing the landscapes and people, she also included instructions on the necessary clothing, such as wool or alpaca dresses with rings sewn into the skirts, in which to pass ropes, a small pair of theatre binoculars and veils to easily cross the snow. Since then, the real name of the author, who hid behind her husband's surname to avoid the scandal of a woman travelling alone in the midst of the Victorian era, remains unknown.
Almost two centuries later, however, the mountains are an increasingly feminine affair, far beyond the gender of the noun. "I believe a cultural change is underway, women express a peculiar approach to the mountains, experienced as a personal and shared experience, and not only as performance and conquest": speaking, in the futuristic offices of the Oberalp group in Bolzano, is Ruth Oberrauch, vice-president of the group and founder and brand manager of LaMunt, the native female mountain clothing brand. "In the past, sportswear for women was the shrink and pink version of those for men. Our philosophy is different, because we start from the characteristics of the female body to create the products".
Thus, the lower back is higher and in a Merino wool and tencel fabric that dries easily, shorts can be cut to the length of your choice, the drawstring of a jacket adjusted to make it more comfortable, and colours and designs go beyond the perimeter of sportswear to embrace fashion: "We are very present in shops that offer a mix of sportswear and non sportswear," he adds. In April, we opened our first boutique in Munich, designed as a sharing space, where we also organise events that give women space.
La stessa filosofia anima il negozio, e il progetto, di Sher, marchio di abbigliamento e accessori per cicliste fondato da Sara Canali nel 2018. Il negozio di Bolzano, con le grandi vetrine affacciate sulla strada, ospita eventi e sessioni di allenamento trasmesse su Instagram, aperte a tutte: «Abbiamo messo a punto tute con bretelle che facilitano le pause, pantaloncini senza elastico per adattarsi meglio al corpo - racconta l’imprenditrice -. Con l’università di Monaco abbiamo brevettato un fondello in tessuto antimicotico e antibatterico, che si può sostituire quando è consumato. Facciamo tutto in Italia e con tessuti italiani, e puntiamo molto sulla versatilità, con creazioni che possono essere indossate anche oltre lo sport, con una palette di colori come il blu o il tortora che sta bene a tutte, a prescindere dalla carnagione e dai capelli. E organizziamo pedalate collettive, in cui si segue il ritmo di chi va più lentamente».
Uniting these female entrepreneurial projects made in South Tyrol is also a marked sensitivity for sustainability and circularity: 'I believe that with LaMunt, within two collections, we will reach 100 per cent recycled materials in our garments,' Oberrauch notes. 'We are constantly researching, also in order to reach the goals we have set ourselves as a group, i.e. zero emissions by 2050. For example, for our padding we use wadding derived from the waste of a technical fabric, and obtained using purely mechanical processes, and recycled feathers obtained from old garments or cushions.
