Q&A with Orage co-owner, freeskiing OG, and all around good guy Mike Nick
Why Orage?
Were one of the few companies, especially on the hardgoods side that is completely freeski focused.
We dont cross into racing or anything, were freestyle/freeski oriented and thats how weve always been.
We work closely with our athletes, and we want to make products for like-minded people.
Thats what allows us to be relevant.
Weve been around for 25 years and weve never changed because were dedicated to what weve always done.
We look at outerwear from a different perspective.
We want to blur the lines between on-hill and on-street outerwear.
Thats the quintessential Orage piece.
We went with an alternative fabric this year and coupled that with 20k waterproofing / 20k breathability.
Its the Cadillac of jackets.
What new tech has got you most excited this year?
We havent gone after one thing that will revolutionize our line up.
Were blending fabrics and purposes for our products.
Its stuff that will keep you warm everywhere, as opposed to just warm and dry on the mountain.
You cant guarantee precipitation, so were also designing products for drier climates.
And not everyone wants to walk around downtown with a 3-ply goretex jacket, you know?
Tell us about the new Orage Masters.
We kind of over-extended our welcome in Sun Valley.
One slopestyle comp looks a lot like the next one.
Weve got a good relationship with Retallack too.
Theyre stoked and so are the athletes.
Thats how were accounting for the location.
Whats the story behind the Orage ad in the Newschoolers Yearbook?
We wanted to show love to all the haters out there.
How has the new ownership affected operations?
Its made us faster.
The things weve tweaked have been intense for sure; were in overdrive.
There are a lot of challenges.
This collection was developed and designed a year ago.
Basically producing outerwear is an 18 month cycle and were trying to shrink that.
Were trying to condense the forecasting process for retailers.
In general were trying to get back to our roots as a brand.
From a retail standpoint, buyers are stoked.
When we were privately owned, we were at our best.
Our buyers are stoked on that.
