The winter sports industry is entrenched with mammoths in the outdoor performance wear industry. Patagonia, North Face, Arc’Teryx … the list is long. And while these brands are top-tiered when it comes to keeping outdoor enthusiasts moving, warm, and dry in their snow sport of choice, independent brands are claiming a growing share of the market, too. Powder Magazine named “wearing outerwear from small or upstart brands” as a top ski fashion trend for the 2025-2026 season.
Some, like direct-to-consumer and Jackson Hole-based brand, Stio, have found growing acclaim beyond the Intermountain West, a success story rooted in shopper’s desire to support outdoor brands that both look sharp, hold up, and meet the needs of folks looking to get outside in whatever form or fashion. Founder Stephen Sullivan told Forbes that the key to Stio’s success has been listening to customers without the pressure to meet retailer needs.
The movement, it seems, is also not really a trend at all, but a shift in buying that leans more toward supporting local brands that are hyper-focused on their customer base and offer a unique look not typically found in the industry. This entails both small-batch lines of après wear and slope-to-lodge attire, as well as backcountry kits geared toward the most hardcore of powder seekers.
And Sun Valley is no stranger to these next-level outfitters.
Photo Courtesy Cassie Abel
Cassie Abel, the founder and CEO behind Sun Valley-based women’s outdoor apparel brand Wild Rye, spent years in the ski industry, from marketing gigs at ski resorts to working for gear brands like Smith Optics. Her jobs took her to industry trade shows across the country, and Abel says she felt the constant nag of the “pink it and shrink it” trend in gear meant for women.
“I took that as an opportunity to build the change I wanted to see,” Cassie says. “A lot of women’s products were stripped of their performance version.” She decided to build Wild Rye as a technical apparel brand that doesn’t skimp on style or function and empowers women to keep moving in the outdoors.
“We create high-performance apparel for women that fits well and looks good, and I didn’t think either of those areas needed to suffer,” she says. Think pants meant to have curves, pockets in the right spot, and base layers that keep you warm and hold up wear after wear.
“We wanted to have products that performed at the highest level and still felt feminine and on par with what we wanted,” she says. “It is meant for women who move in the mountains. You don’t have to be the most badass skier, but we want the product to hold up if you choose to play outside.”
In 2016, Abel and her team of 10 women introduced a mountain bike-focused collection to immediate fans, then grew by adding a robust active lifestyle collection, including base layers. This past fall, Wild Rye launched their inaugural ski and snowboard collection to the anchoring mountain bike collection.
Abel says her favorite is the Heyburn Kid with a high-performance and lightweight, 3-layer (3L) shell and bib with waterproof and breathable PFAS-free material. “It is hands down the best backcountry kit I have ever worn,” she says. “The fabric is breathable, waterproof, and really lightweight and durable.”
Abel has noticed that today’s shopper seeking out their brand is looking for performance as much as values. “People are looking for values alignment,” she says. “Everything is super charged right now, and value alignment is super important for consumers.” At Wild Rye, Abel explains that their values are intrinsic to their DNA: donating to causes that impact women’s healthcare, starting Women-Led Wednesday to support women-owned brands, and employing women. “They wouldn’t choose us if our product wasn’t exceptional, but they keep coming back because the values alignment is there.”
And Sun Valley women and visitors to the area show up for community-conscious spending in spades. “In Sun Valley, I notice so often that labels don’t matter,” says Camilla Bradley, founder and designer behind CK Bradley. Her customers lean into finding something that both represents their style and needs and isn’t a cookie cutter look.
Bradley launched women’s apparel company CK Bradley in 1999. The company has rebranded and relaunched over the years, and now is home to CK Bradley Boutique in both Sun Valley and Newport, Rhode Island, with a variety of lines and collections that run the gamut from casual wear to dresses and sleek tops. While her bread and butter is women’s everyday apparel, Bradley also created Après by CK Bradley, a retro ski apparel line for women featuring bold colors and designs, as well as the ski line: Neve x CK Bradley.
“My tag line is ‘Turn heads at après.’ How do you do that? You wear things no one else is wearing. You combine things no one else is doing,” she says. “The reason we chose to open in Sun Valley is because it was the perfect place to combine my dress line and ski line.”
Bradley’s Neva by CK Bradley line combines outdoor activewear with CK’s signature bold and fun aesthetic. “It is very vintage with classic and beautiful heavy knit wool sweaters you can even sometimes wear without a puffer,” she says. “They are durable, beautiful, curated pieces and sort of harken back to the times when it was really fashion on the slopes.”
Looking at what’s to come for CK Bradley, Bradley says she always finds inspiration from the Sun Valley lifestyle. She calls her inspiration “East meets West,” a ski town and East Coast look that was just meant for the Wood River Valley.
Sun Valley allows Bradley to play with inspiration and land on fashion lines that speak to not just what is in style, but what feels perfectly Sun Valley from gingham shirts with Western flare or color blocked ski bibs.
Whether meant to move in the mountains like Wild Rye or go from the slopes to the lodge with CK Bradley, independent apparel brands are as distinctive as the individuals who wear them.
Iksplor More
The hidden benefit of a local brand might just be the “local.” Yes, it’s amazing to find a top-notch company that’s made by community members you see on the slopes or on the trailhead. But what’s extra special is the know-how and attention to what a good piece of outdoor clothing needs to hold up in the elements. For instance, a powder day at Bald Mountain or, over in Wyoming, a frigid day cross country skiing with the family in Grand Teton National Park. Cue Iksplor.
Founded by sisters and mothers Karissa Tuthill and Kailey Tuthill, Iksplor (the name is the phonetic spelling of “explore”) offers sustainably sourced cozy merino wool layers for families and has found a growing fanbase in the Tetons and beyond. Think newborn onesies perfect for keeping your littlest adventurer cozy in the baby carrier to wool breastfeeding-friendly tops for moms. The super material is the ideal moisture-wicking fabric to stay cool on warm mountain days while also keeping you toasty warm when the snow falls. And sometimes those two things can happen on one day!
Devin Dwyer, a Teton-based mom to three young girls and avid outdoorswoman, tries to spend as much time in the outdoors with her family as possible, and knows that the right gear makes it all the more fun and easier—on both mom and kiddos. Iksplor is her go-to for wool base layers.
“Whether it’s 80 degrees or -14°, our family lives in Iksplor layers—keeping us protected from the sun and warm through winter,” Dwyer says. “I truly love every item they make and have been a loyal customer for years. The quality is top-notch, and as a mom, I especially appreciate that the merino can be washed and dried.”
For Dwyer, it’s extra special to know she is supporting women raising young girls in the mountains like her. “I’m proud to support this sister team who are inspiring the next generation of outdoor adventurers.”