Following his debut collection with the Spring/Summer 2023 runway show staged in Milan last September, Creative Director Rhuigi Villaseor debuts BALLY CURLING, his first capsule for the house, to kick off the European winter season.
The sport of curling arrived in Switzerland as early as the late 19th century, brought by the Scots who have been “curling” stones across the ice since the 1700s. Like a giant game of boules on ice, today curling is a favorite winter pastime for men and women alike and comes with its own icon — the BALLY Curling Boot — that has become a house staple since gracing the feet of the Swiss Olympic team at Cortina d’Ampezzo in 1956. The distinctive après-ski style, with its cocooning rubber sole and toe reinforced with Arctic Grip® technology, has evolved over the decades as a stylish, versatile and hardwearing shoe for all seasons.
Reinventing the curling shoe as a part of a fully-fledged Ready-to-Wear and accessories vision, the capsule is inspired by the visual clash of Swiss alpine tradition with both cowboy and varsity codes. In an irreverent twist, Villaseñor, an LA native, harnesses the playful spirit of the American West and applies it to the tenets of winter sports, creating a new transatlantic dialogue of decoration and materiality. Encapsulated in “Curl Curl Baby”, an irreverent short film following the curling battle of two opposing teams, the capsule’s luxurious, graphic spirit comes to life against the arresting scenery of St. Moritz, Switzerland.
From transitional options to high-season winter wares, BALLY CURLING embraces the luxuriant ambience of après-ski, with mix-and-match ensembles that fuse Western detailing and nostalgic mountaineering motifs with refined natural materials like cashmere, shearling and suede. In a palette ranging from earthy autumnal shades to icy pastels fit for romps in the winter sun, men’s and women’s designs comprise of a
top-to-toe casual wardrobe: a new curling uniform of fine-gauge roll neck sweaters and luxe jogging pants, cashmere hoodies, sweater vests, and leg warmers.
In partnership with the St. Moritz brand, Swiss-inspired collegiate prints and embroideries enriched with archival BALLY graphics create iconic heritage moments, whilst shearling-trimmed denim and Western quilted outerwear express Villaseñor’s tongue-in-cheek sense of Americana.
As the capsule’s focal point, the classic BALLY Curling Boot is transformed in a myriad of new styles and materials. Scaled up as thigh-high boots or down as shearling slides, it emerges topstitched with Western motifs to mimic cowboy boots or padded and laced with drawstrings as a hybrid curling snow boot. Waterproof nubuck and rubberized leather offer new all-weather options, paired with the Arctic Grip® sole that offers the world’s most advanced cold-weather grip technology to date. Complementing the core curling designs, a bold accessories line includes playful hybrids: a cowboy hat in shearling or baseball cap in soft wool and suede, cocooning jacquard blankets with leather accents, pom pom beanies and plush “Switzerland” football scarves — engineered with BALLY craftsmanship for the streets and the slopes in equal measure.
