An A-To-Z of 2010/11 Outerwear: Special Blend

kailee bradstreet

• November 25 2009
• 3 comments

For the upcoming 2010/11 snow season, Special Blend plans to remain a focused, more exclusive outerwear brand, according to Product Manger Susan Stewart, who we caught up with to discuss the new line. “Our outerwear line is for the consumer who is taking the trend risks and leading the subculture on their local hill.  This year we will continue to bring that progressive style to our consumers without forcing them to tap into their beer fund,” Stewart says of the brand’s outlook on pricepoints. Special Blend continues to charge ahead and stay on the pulse of what’s trendy this coming season, and Stewart says the economy has not stopped the brand when it comes to this process.

Special Blend Product Manger Susan Stewart

“It’s retail environments like this that separate the top shelf brands from the rest.  We can not wait for the season.”

What are the three biggest trends you see shaping the outerwear market and what you are doing to meet them?

1. The snowboarding consumer has evolved and is savvier when it comes to fashion trends.  Trend is trickling down a lot faster than it used to and everyone is working to find a way to stay on the pulse. We just make sure we stay one step ahead.
2. The shock-value of neons is over. The allover print has shifted away from your outerwear and back onto those 2nd grade cartoon bed sheets you used to own. To set the visual trend, we are using a single color against itself in a variety of saturations. Our prints are being used to create textures and patterns that you wouldn’t be able to achieve from weaving fabric.  This evolution is putting us at the forefront of fashion and trend in snowboarding.
3. The dedicated riders that we focus on are more diverse then ever, as is the trend direction in streetwear.  Our product offering includes styles that keep the consumer ahead of the curve whether you run the baggy look or the pinner pants. Shred in it, socialize in it…from First Chair to Last Call.

What fabrics, colors, technologies are you focusing on for next season?

We have continued our partnership with Goretex, offering a jacket designed in collaboration with Steve Harrington to bring trend leading design to our pinnacle products.  Our color stories were influenced by a gradient scale. We’ve been experimenting with ways to work a single color gradient while adding an unexpected hit of a complimentary or contrast color instead of just flooding the piece with dayglo neon.

L to R: Men's Circa Jacket $179.99 and Annex Pant $179.99; Women's Swift Jacket $149.99 and Dutchess Pant $129.99

How have you responded to the current market and the decrease in prebooks?

We are getting back to the scarcity that has driven the strength of the brand historically.  We have continued to refine and focus our brand on consumers that want to be in front of trend and retail partners who understand where we are heading.

A tight distribution and focus on scarcity are two key steps to making sure we supply the market what they need without jammin’ the channel with product.

What opportunities do you see in the outerwear market?

Brands like Special Blend that knit the lifestyle and trend elements together with remarkable product are going to be in the driver seat at retail.