Columbia Sportswear CompanyÆ Fall 1999 Outerwear

x Columbia Sportswear CompanyÆ Fall 1999 Outerwear

Friday, July 25, 2008

Columbia Sportswear CompanyÆ Fall 1999 Outerwear

December 1998

Columbia Sportswear is known for incorporating style, function and integrity into each new season, and fall í99 is no exception. True to form, Columbia thrives in the outdoor environment with some of the most functional, good-looking and affordable apparel on the market. Columbia offers six unbeatable outerwear categories to choose from, all featuring at least one popular Columbia performance hallmark, like high performance waterproof/breathable Omni-Tech/Ceramicô technology, the 3-in-1 Interchange Systemô, our new Radial Comfort Systemô, or our Radial Venting Systemô.

Titaniumô -- Menís, Womenís, and Youth Illustrating Columbiaís top-of-the-line, high-performance tech apparel, our Titaniumô collection is innovative, demanding and designed for those who like to challenge the great outdoors every chance they get. From technical skiers to ice climbers and mountaineers, Titaniumô is crafted to accommodate your every whim at an unbeatable price.

Building on its momentum from last season, Titaniumô continues to debut new technologies, fabrics and insulations. In addition to Columbiaís proprietary Omni-Tech Ceramicô and Omni-Tech CXBô coatings, Columbia introduces eVENTô wind protection, a technology that dramatically increases the warmth, comfort and climate/activity range of high performance fleece garments. Columbia also introduces Polarguard 3DÆ insulation, one of the most technical insulations on the market, both durable and high-lofting as well as lightweight and packable.

The success of our menís and womenís collections inspired the introduction of high-performance Titaniumô in our boys youth offering last fall. That has expanded this season to include girlís styles for the first time ever. Mirroring the functional design and performance attributes of our adult offering, our youth Titaniumô collection includes two parkas and two pants made of our waterproof/breathable Omni-Tech Mini-Faille/Ceramicô with Fahrenhotô insulation.

The Titaniumô collection has over 35 styles for men, women and children, and includes special features like our new Radial Comfort Systemô, a system to increase functional performance while at the same time reducing bulk; our Radial Venting Systemô, a more functional venting system that encourages air flow through the garment; and Columbiaís proprietary state-of-the-art waterproof/breathable Omni-Tech Mini-Faille/Ceramicô construction. In addition, the collection also includes unrestrictive shoulder designs, single-hand drawcords and glove leashes.

Styles include a wide selection of long and mid-length Interchange Systemô parkas, shells, a suit, and MTR Fleeceô sweaters and vests. Bold tech brights like canyon, crimson, bright blue, soleil, and celestial are still very popular, while deeper tones like midnight, aluminum, iguana and beet offer sharp accents.

New Fabrics and Technologies eVentô Wind Protection - A membrane technology that dramatically increases the warmth, comfort, and climate/activity range of high performance fleece garments without added weight or bulk. "ePTFE" technology (expanded polytetraflouroethylene) is laminated between fabric layers to provide virtual windproofness while still achieving a high level of breathability.

Polarguard 3DÆ - A premium insulation made from fine denier, continuous filament fibers, providing extreme durability and high-loft. Whether compacting it for packing or washing, it will retain its original loft.

Mile High Ripstopô - A lightweight durable ripstop fabric that combines tightly woven 100 percent nylon double ripstop with a TeflonÆ coating. Performs best as a shell fabric over lofted insulation.

New Features Radial Comfort Systemô - Takes functional performance to the highest level by incorporating lightweight, flexible Double Ripô fabric in strategic panels, significantly enhancing the comfort under the arms while decreasing the weight of the garment.

Rainwear - Menís and Womenís Columbiaís year-round rainwear collection is anchored with performance fabrics and applications like Double Ripô with waterproof/breathable Omni-Techô; HydroPlus 3000ô, a waterproof, windproof, seam sealed nylon; lightweight weather-resistant HydroPlusô; and completely waterproof PVC. This collection includes packable shells and pants for men and women.

New Fabrics Omni-Tech Traverse Clothô - A durable oxford weave nylon featuring Omni- Techô coating. It provides exceptional value and protection for activities including recreational skiing and hiking in mountain environments.

Sidecut - Menís and Womenís After a strong initial showing at retail last season, Columbia brings back the Sidecut collection, offering functional performance in sleek, carving-inspired styles and designs. Racing-inspired color combinations, innovative venting systems and fully taped seams characterize this line. All styles are made with Columbiaís Duraflexô and Ballistic Oxfordô fabrics and are treated with waterproof/breathable Omni-Tech CXBô coating. The simplistic alpine styling, unique fashion appeal, texture, and competitive pricing make this line an unbeatable value.

This 13-piece collection includes Interchange and attached insulation parkas, pants and a suit for women. The color story includes combinations of brights ñ yellows, reds, blues and greens -- as well as deeper tones ñ midnight, shadow, spruce, blues and dark chalk.

Hybryd ñ Menís and Womenís For fall í99, Columbia introduces this forward-looking collection, designed to capture the essence of both the snowboard and young ëpreppyí audiences. Addressing this younger fashion- and value-conscious audience, Hybryd represents a combination of attitude, styling and value pricing with snowboard-influenced designs, natural muted color tones like dill, fossil, agate and black, and durable Technicloth IIô fabric. This collection includes attached insulation parkas and pants for men and women.

Sport ñ Menís, Womenís and Youth* A continued success story for Columbiaís younger customer, our Sport collection highlights the athletically-inspired look of the 90s with bold styling, striking bright color blockings and a youthful attitude. This season, weíve expanded our womenís Sport offering to include four stylish parkas, one with a fun reversible design. For men, we offer four fresh parkas and a new pant with tear-away side openings.

Our kids Sport offering welcomes two girlís parkas for the first time, joining three boyís parkas and a pant. The color story is bright ñ stinger, fire, velvis, voltage and plum ñ with a few subdued accents like drizzle, agate, shadow and midnight.

Core Active ñ Menís, Womenís and Youth* Columbia Sportswear is based on five key words: Active, Outdoor, Authentic, American and Value. Nothing represents all five categories better than our core active offering, from short and long Interchange Systemô parkas, attached insulation parkas, zip-front and pullover shells, rugged casual jackets, pants, bibs, and fleece and pile sweaters.

Our durable and rugged nylon Bergundtalô and Technicloth IIô fabrics are staples in this line, providing genuine performance and function for those who find their fun in the freezing, bitter cold of winter. Other functional features in our core active line include Radial Sleevesô, security pockets, and detachable or pull-out hoods. Women and girls will enjoy a variety of great color choices like static blue, iceberg, cane, celestial, dark plum and midnight, while the guys can choose from colors like bright blue, crimson, soleil, beet, black, spruce and shadow.

Accompanying our wide selection of core active parkas and pants are a variety of fleece and pile zip-fronts, pullovers, vests, V- and crew neck sweaters, and warm, cozy pants. Styles come in several new patterns and flattering designs for the entire family.

Tectonite - Youth One of our best selling youth collections, the Columbia kid loves the techie look of our Tectonite offering: bright, active colors and functional features like attached and Interchange Systemô styles, snap-off hoods, retractable bungee drawcord waists, lift ticket D-rings and mitten clips. This 12-piece offering includes parkas, pants, bibs and two suits.

Microfrost - Girls* Tapping into the feminine side of little girls, Columbiaís Microfrost collection of three parkas, a bib and a suit, combines the softness of brushed nylon Microfrostô fabric with popular features like attached hoods with volume control/storage tabs, internal security pockets, internal powder skirts, Radial Sleevesô in the parkas, and open bottom with gaitor and boot guards on the pant and suit.

TRENDS:

Bridging the Gap - Generation 2000. No age group is more prevalent today than that of the late baby boomers and the infamous Generation Xers, and most of them are participating in some sort of outdoor activity from camping to snowshoeing. Columbia banks on that, which is why we provide the ultimate outerwear selection for a variety of fashion tastes, from parkas to shells and fleece vests to pile pullovers.

Spreading the Wealth. No longer just for the high-performance, technical pieces, more and more technical features, such as venting systems and waterproof/breathable applications, are showing up in basic, core products. Columbia represents this well with a wide selection of technical garments, from entry level to ultimate performance.

Middle Weight. Mid-length parkas with drawcords, as well as lighter weight fabrics, are all the craze this season, especially for women. Younger customers are demanding less insulation and Columbia offers several of these styles in both jacket and fleece silhouettes.

*Youth styles include sizes 2T to 18/20.