Stefano Colombo, Italian luxury of a new generation

One hundred years of life for a family business is not a small thing. A century doing slalom between the most complicated poles in history: from the arrival of fascism to the crisis of 1929, from the disaster of World War II to the pandemic. This year, the Italian Colmar reaches this milestone as one of the most solid companies in terms of high-end ski and lifestyle clothing.

Stefano Colombo is the fourth generation of this family saga; Born in Monza, near Milan, in 1985, he is a discreet boy who easily goes from Italian to English, from French to Spanish, which he claims to have learned thanks to Netflix. He is the son of Alessandra and Mario Colombo, current president of the company, where his uncles and cousins ​​also work. She does not lack the adventurous spirit that led her to cross South America with his backpack or to drop from a helicopter in a remote part of Alaska with his trusty skis on her feet.

The name of the company, which has a turnover of more than 110 million euros, is the fusion of the name and surname of the founder, Stefano’s great-grandfather, Mario Colombo. The patriarch was in charge of quality control at a textile factory in Monza and, together with his wife Irma, a seamstress, in 1923 began to produce hats and overalls from waste fabrics, unknowingly applying the concept of circularity that will be so important to his young heir.

Colmar’s beginnings coincided with the most turbulent years of the 20th century, until the decisive encounter with the mountains and the ski slopes. Irma created the first ergonomic and aerodynamic suit in history, which allowed the legendary Italian skier, Zeno Colò, to win the downhill gold medal at the 1952 Oslo Olympic Games. Since then, “In case of snow, Colmar” has been has become one of the most familiar slogans for lovers of the white circus.

Stefano, who holds the position of sales and marketing director, enthusiastically recounts the family epic while attending the 2023 Ski World Cup finals in Grandvalira Soldeu (Andorra), where Colmar is the official sponsor of the French and Slovenian national teams . The firm is a reference both in Italy and in Germany, France, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain, but it is also present in Japan and aims to enter the US decisively.

Colmar has stores in Milan, Paris, London and in the most famous ski resorts, its fabrics have always been synonymous with innovation, performance and sustainability, with a growing presence in the field of urban fashion. In fact, on the occasion of the centenary, the firm participated for the first time in Milan Fashion Week, presenting a premium collection, the result of collaboration with the Japanese designer Yosuke Aizawa, a combination of the iconic Colmar pen with the typical cuts Aizawa outdoor.

For Stefano Colombo, the mountains are a vocation and a passion, although, he admits, “I joined the company by chance, at the age of 25. At first I was eager to demonstrate and it seemed to me that I had no right to ask questions, but already had to give answers. I threw myself where there were spaces, especially in digital projection that was not very exploited. I have tried to introduce a model with less hierarchy, letting everyone carry out ideas or projects. I have a lot of respect for the luck I’ve had.”

In addition to mountains, geopolitics and music, his other great passion is gastronomy, which led him to open a restaurant in his native Monza, an adventure greatly influenced by his forays into the most renowned tables in Barcelona. In fact, the chefs are disciples of Martín Berasategui and Albert Adrià and his proposal aims to merge the best of Spanish haute cuisine with the Lombard-Milanese tradition, creating a credible narrative, a concept that the young entrepreneur repeats like a mantra.

The two passions are also intertwined when it comes to the future of skiing which, due to climate change, “will have to develop at ever higher altitudes, just like wine”, explains Stefano. The challenges are many: “skiing will tend towards greater elitism, and to maintain the same level of tourism it will be necessary to increase the structures, with the consequent environmental impact. The clothes will also have to adapt to the different moments and climates of the day. For example, we are developing lighter and more ventilated garments but with a great thermal insulation capacity”.

Sustainability is undoubtedly the theme of these years and a millennial like Stefano Colombo shows that he has clear ideas about it: “It is good because the drive comes from below: it is a niche of consumers that is very noticeable. However, the capitalist economy is not reconciled with 100% sustainability, it is about undertaking a gradual path to cancel or reduce the carbon footprint. Our goal is to produce circular garments that are easy to recycle.”

At the moment, Colmar does not have stores in Spain, “although I would like to open one in Madrid,” says Colombo. There are some difficulties. The first is of an economic-cultural nature, with an audience that is still highly price-oriented, and the other is linked to the climate, which would make it necessary to focus above all on lifestyle. On the other hand, says Stefano, “Andorra offers very high quality, with impeccable service, and Spain also has room to develop more qualitative tourism. What he knew how to do on the coast is perfectly replicable in the mountains”.