Who Is Colmar? The Monza Ski House Since 1923

Colmar is an Italian skiwear and sportswear house founded in Monza in 1923 by Mario Colombo, and it is owned today by the company he started, Manifattura Mario Colombo & C. S.p.A. The Colmar ski collection at Coveti runs to 61 women’s styles for Fall Winter 2026, from women’s designer ski jackets to national team pieces such as the Austrian National Team Ski Jacket in Indian Red.

Put simply, Colmar is a family-founded Italian ski brand with more than a century behind it. It began with felt hats and gaiters, moved into workwear, then turned to sport and skiing after the Second World War. The racing link is documented: Zeno Colò won Olympic gold in Colmar at Oslo in 1952.

That history matters less to a buyer than what the house does now, and the answer is unusually transparent. Colmar prints a waterproof rating in millimetres and a breathability figure on its shells and padded pieces, then adds a warmth level from Light to Very Warm. This page covers both halves of the story: where the name came from, and how to read the current line before you choose a jacket.

From felt hats to the ski slope

Mario Colombo set up in Monza, a short distance from Milan, in Brianza. Brianza is a textile district, and the first Colmar products were the kind of things a textile town made for everyday life: felt hats and gaiters. Workwear came next. None of this was ski clothing yet, and the company was not a sports brand in its first two decades.

The turn came after the Second World War. Mario’s sons, Giancarlo and Angelo Colombo, moved the business toward sportswear and skiing. It is a familiar shape for a European ski house: a garment maker that already knew how to cut and finish cloth, turned toward the mountains. What sets Colmar apart is how early it tied itself to racing.

From the late 1940s the company worked with FISI, the Italian winter sports federation. Kit for a national federation is a demanding brief. Racers need clothing that moves with them and holds up to training, and a federation partner gets direct feedback from the people who push garments hardest.

The name: COLombo MARio

The name is a small piece of family arithmetic. Colmar joins the first three letters of the founder’s surname to the first three of his given name: COLombo MARio. Read it on a jacket as the founder’s signature. His sons were the ones who later took the company into skiing.

Zeno Colò and the 1952 Oslo gold

The moment that fixed Colmar in ski history came at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo. Zeno Colò, the Italian alpine racer from Abetone in Tuscany, won gold wearing Colmar. For that occasion the house introduced a close-fitting, aerodynamic technical jacket. It was a jacket shaped for speed.

Colò (1920 to 1993) is the only athlete we name in connection with the brand, because he is the one the record supports. The point of the story is the idea behind it: a ski jacket cut close to the body for speed. You can trace a line from that jacket to the slim-cut suits in the current range, and to the racing suit in the team collection.

National team pieces in the current line

The Fall Winter 2026 women’s collection carries two sets of national team clothing, for Austria and Slovenia. These are named team pieces in Colmar’s own range, and Coveti stocks them alongside the main line. We do not give a start date for either partnership, because the house does not publish one on the product pages we read.

The two team ski jackets share a build. The Austrian piece in Indian Red and the Slovenian National Team Ski Jacket in Black are both rated 15,000 mm with 15K breathability, both carry 150 g of Repreve wadding, and both sit at the Warm level. Each is $1,110 at Coveti. Below the waist, the Austrian National Team Salopettes in Black are $780 at Coveti and carry the same 15,000 mm rating.

The team range also includes a racing suit. The Austrian Team Women’s Racing Suit in Red is $870 at Coveti, sized XS to XXL, slim cut and rated Medium for warmth. It is a race suit for gates and training, not resort wear, and it carries no published waterproof rating. Our guide to Colmar ski suits and the racing suit covers how it differs from the padded one-piece suits.

How the current Colmar line is built

The useful habit at Colmar is publication. Each product page states a waterproof rating as a water column: 10,000 mm, 15,000 mm and 20,000 mm across the women’s outerwear we carry. Colmar describes 10,000 mm as “suitable for heavy rain” and 15,000 mm as “suitable for heavy rain, with barrier of up to 15,000 mm water column”. A higher number means the fabric resists more water pressure before it lets any through.

Breathability is given as 10K, 15K and 20K. Colmar calls 15K “excellent for sports”, and 10K “suitable for moderate hikes and regular outdoor activities”. The ratings usually travel in pairs, so a 20,000 mm shell carries 20K breathability. Our explainer on ski jacket waterproof ratings goes through what the figures mean on the mountain.

Then there is warmth. Every piece gets a level of Light, Medium, Warm and Very Warm. A Light shell is meant for layering, while a Very Warm down jacket is built for cold, still days on the chairlift. The scale gives you a quick way to compare a padded jacket with a shell that relies on what you wear under it.

Several technologies recur on the pages. Many pieces carry a water-repellent finish Colmar says was “developed without the use of PFOAS and PFOS”. Some use stretch fabric. A few have a graphene lining, five pieces carry RECCO reflectors, and two pieces have an antimicrobial treatment. The pieces with no membrane rating, such as the quilted team jackets and the fleeces, rely on that water-repellent finish alone.

Insulation, fabric and fit

Colmar names its insulation, and the names are worth knowing. Repreve wadding, which Colmar describes as made from 85% recycled fibres, fills several jackets at 140 g and 150 g. Comfortemp padding appears at 200 g in the Charming Ski Jacket with Faux Fur in White, $1,120 at Coveti. Down fills the puffy and belted jackets.

Take the Mirea Glossy Ski Down Jacket in Black as the down benchmark: 10,000 mm, 10K, Very Warm, cut to a Comfort fit, and $1,020 at Coveti. At the other end, the Connected 3L Ski Shell Jacket in Disco Pink is a three-layer shell rated 20,000 mm and 20K, warmth Light, with RECCO, at $1,060 at Coveti. The two jackets answer different weather, and the ratings tell you which is which before you try either on.

Fit is named too. Colmar uses Regular, Slim and Comfort. Comfort covers most of the roomier down jackets and one padded shell, Slim covers the leggings, the shaped salopettes, the one-piece suits and the base layers, and Regular covers most of the rest. Our Colmar size guide explains how each fit sits on the body and how the Italian sizes convert.

Where to start by category

If you want one jacket for a week in the Alps, start with the padded jackets rated 15,000 mm. The Shaping Padded Ski Jacket in Black is down filled, Very Warm and $1,020 at Coveti. For a piece with more shape and a fur trim, the Shaped Ski Jacket with Faux Fur in Black is one of the 20,000 mm jackets in the edit, with 140 g of Repreve and a graphene lining, at $1,290 at Coveti.

For the lower half, the women’s ski trousers and salopettes split into softshell and padded. The Glam Padded Ski Trousers in Black pair 20,000 mm with 80 g of Clomax, a graphene lining and RECCO, at $660 at Coveti. The softshell Dressy Softshell Ski Trousers in Black are $520 at Coveti, rated 10,000 mm and Medium for warmth. See our guide to Colmar ski trousers and salopettes for the full comparison.

If you prefer one piece, the Desire Padded Ski Suit in Black is $1,410 at Coveti, rated 20,000 mm with a graphene lining and a Slim fit. Under any of these you will want a mid-layer and a base layer. The Half-Zip Stretch Ski Fleece in Black is $310 at Coveti, and the Thermal Seamless Dryarn Ski Top in Eclipse Grey is $320 at Coveti. Our wider guide on how to layer for skiing shows how the three layers work together.

Colmar around the world

For US buyers, the Rockies bring cold, dry snow and long chairlift rides, so the Warm and Very Warm pieces earn their place. Colmar’s Italian sizes are the thing to check first. Colmar matches IT 42 to US 6, and the table in our size guide gives the rest. Prices at Coveti are shown in US dollars, which keeps comparison simple.

UK buyers mostly ski the Alps in school holidays and at Easter, when conditions swing from deep cold to wet spring snow. A 15,000 mm jacket with a fleece under it covers most of that range. Coveti lists Colmar on the UK ladder, so IT 42 shows as UK 10. Coveti is London-based and ships worldwide.

For EU buyers the brand needs less introduction, and Colmar’s own chart maps IT 42 to FR and ES 38 and to DE 36. Resorts in Austria, Italy and France see big swings between sunny days and storms, which is where a shell with a published rating proves its worth.

GCC buyers often start indoors at Ski Dubai, where a fleece and a softshell trouser are plenty, then travel to the Alps, Japan and the Rockies for real mountain weather. For those trips the Very Warm down jackets make sense, layered over a base layer. Our ski trip packing list helps you plan the full kit before you fly.

What Coveti carries

Coveti stocks 127 Colmar women’s pieces across 61 styles for Fall Winter 2026, all at full price and all 100% authentic. The table below breaks the edit down by category, with the number of styles and colourways, the price range at Coveti, and the waterproof ratings Colmar publishes for each group. Ski jackets and gilets are the largest group at 24 styles. Fleeces, sweatshirts and base layers carry no waterproof rating, which is what you would expect of a mid-layer. For a wider view of the label beside its peers, see our guide to the best luxury ski brands, and the full Colmar brand page at Coveti has every piece in stock.

How we measured: the Coveti Colmar edit on 1 November 2026, full price only, every piece with a studio packshot. Waterproof ratings are Colmar’s published figures.

Frequently asked questions

Is Colmar an Italian brand?

Yes. Colmar is an Italian skiwear and sportswear brand, founded in Monza in 1923 by Mario Colombo. It is owned by Manifattura Mario Colombo & C. S.p.A., the company he started. Monza sits near Milan in Brianza, a textile district, and the house moved into skiing after the Second World War under his sons Giancarlo and Angelo.

What does the name Colmar stand for?

The name joins the first letters of the founder’s surname and given name: COLombo MARio. It is a family signature, and the company still carries his full name: Manifattura Mario Colombo & C. S.p.A. Mario Colombo founded the company in Monza in 1923, and it made felt hats, gaiters and workwear before it ever made a ski jacket.

Which Olympic skier wore Colmar?

Zeno Colò, the Italian alpine racer from Abetone in Tuscany, won gold wearing Colmar at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo. For that occasion the house introduced a close-fitting, aerodynamic technical jacket. Colò lived from 1920 to 1993, and his gold is the best documented moment in the brand’s racing history.

Are Colmar ski jackets waterproof?

Colmar’s padded and shell jackets carry a published waterproof rating of 10,000 mm, 15,000 mm and 20,000 mm water column, with breathability from 10K to 20K. Colmar describes 10,000 mm as suitable for heavy rain. Quilted jackets and fleeces carry no membrane rating and rely on a water-repellent finish, so wear them under a shell in bad weather.

How much does Colmar cost at Coveti?

At Coveti, Colmar ski jackets and gilets run from $640 to $1,290, trousers and salopettes from $450 to $780, and ski suits from $870 to $1,520. Fleeces and sweatshirts sit between $310 and $530, and base layers between $260 and $320. All prices are full price in US dollars, and Coveti ships worldwide.

Does Colmar make national team ski wear?

Yes. The Fall Winter 2026 women’s line includes Austrian National Team and Slovenian National Team pieces: ski jackets, salopettes, sweatshirts, quilted jackets and an Austrian Team racing suit. The two team ski jackets are rated 15,000 mm with 150 g of Repreve, and each is $1,110 at Coveti. The racing suit is $870 at Coveti.