Giorgio Armani relaunched the Neve in 2018 after the success of their E7 sportswear line. Neve is the Italian word for snow so you can imagine that this newest capsule is all about the slopes. It seems that Armani aren’t the only ones that thought of ski-oriented collections as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Emilio Pucci all came out with their own as well. It seems skiwear is in, so pay attention. 

Armani said before their show that, “What makes Neve different is the balance of performance and style, and the span of the offer, which is dedicated both to skiing and après ski. You won’t find bright colours in it, and the selection is not limited to technical fabrics.” 

The collection itself feels more skiwear than après ski which, while interesting, doesn’t feel particularly… fashionable. Certainly, there are stand out pieces but the overall impression you get is one of a little too much focus on the technical fabrics. Yes, there are cheetah print faux fur coats, fluffy boots and hats, but they are few and far between. Most of this feels like something you could actually wear skiing, which is fine, but it doesn’t exactly scream high fashion. However, this collection is already available and Armani have sold ski garments worth around €500,000 in the first week alone. 

The highlights are certainly the streetwear inspired pieces, but the rest is skiwear pure and simple. It’s interesting skiwear, and no doubt these silhouettes will be offered by no one else on the slopes, but if you compare it to Gucci’s latest ski drop, it feels a little lacking in fun. Granted, Gucci are all about fun right now, and they created more après ski looks rather than functional skiwear, but comparing the two, it’s hard not to feel that Gucci is ahead of the game here.