If you have ever been dubious about fast fashion brands getting into the ski clothing industry the following story will verify your well deserved suspicions. New York City based fashion influencer Nicole Vawter bought a $300 one-piece ski suit from Zara and while it looked sharp on the internet, she came to find out it was actually awful when it came to battling the elements.
“This wasn’t about a party dress I was wearing to a wedding or something trivial. Skiing is life or death. It’s a very dangerous sport.”
The fashion forward skier posted a review of the Zara Ski Onesie Jumpsuit from a ski resort parking lot where she issued this stern warning:
“Fashionable skiers, we’re not buying Zara ski clothing and actually skiing in it.”
Vawter’s video went massively viral racking up 50+ million views across various social media platforms and according to her, Zara’s corporate team actually reached out and asked she take down the videos:
“They even tried to bribe me to remove the videos because they were straight-up lying to their consumers.”
Vawter held her ground and kept the videos up but what did change was Zara’s description of the onesie:
“The ski suit claimed to be “Water PROOF” and “Wind PROOF…it was neither. After this video went viral last December, Zara completely changed the description of the ski suit, calling it “Wind Resistant” and “Water resistant.”
Not hating on all the chic skiers and snowboarders out there making fashion statements on the slopes but suffice to say buyer beware when you go shopping for ski gear from brands more concerned with how garments look on the runway rather than how perform on the mountain.
