No more melba toast in the lift line or at après! This season is all about bright and beautiful skiwear, but this time the trend is starting in the west. Spearheaded by artist Lynne Harrison, Alberta slopes are going technicolour with her sizzling skiwear brand, Alchemy of Ride.
As fearless as her downhill daredevil hubby, former Crazy Canuck Dave Irwin, the arty alchemist has created waterproof and wind-resistant jackets, pants, down vests, onesies and wicking underwear in bold mountainscape motifs. “It’s about sharing colour and fun and happiness,” says Harrison simply. “Alchemy is the ancient process of turning base metal into gold and ‘The Ride’ is a metaphor for life.”
Harrison started with bike gear then branched out into skiwear last season, selling from her Canmore studio, shops in Lake Louise, Whistler and Arizona, and also online. Focused on helping others affected by mental health issues (because of Irwin’s well-documented brain injury and rehab), Harrison donates a portion of profits to her own Mental-Aid Foundation, as well as Whistler’s Kelty Patrick Dennehey Foundation and Banff’s Mental Illness Stigma Support Group. Go bold, not cold: alchemyofride.org
