Halfdays brings its 'fashion performance' formula for women to Europe

Halfdays, the Colorado-based women’s performance outdoor apparel brand, is launching in Europe after six years of growth in the US. “We’ve really made our stamp in the women’s skiwear market in the US, and we definitely see a similar opportunity in Europe,” chief executive and co-founder Ariana Ferwerda told FashionUnited at the brand’s European launch event in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in early October.

The company has set up its European headquarters in Zurich, with a regional logistics operation in the Netherlands. It will ship across the EU and Switzerland from halfdays.com. Its first stockists in the region include Bongenie, Mountain Air Verbier, Lorenz Bach and Luisaviaroma. Ferwerda said the brand would also become available in the UK next year.

“Our team in the US is really strong, and it felt like the right time from that perspective,” she said.

Halfdays was founded in 2020 by Ferwerda, former Team USA freestyle skier Kiley McKinnon and Karelle Golda. It launched with a collection of women’s skiwear and has since expanded into apparel for hiking, running and studio activities.

According to the company, Halfdays has grown into an eight-figure business with annual revenue growth exceeding 50 percent. In the US, its products are sold direct-to-consumer and through retailers including Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, REI and Revolve.

The idea for the brand came from McKinnon. Ferwerda said that although McKinnon had competed on the world stage and been sponsored by several brands, she never found skiwear that fit women’s bodies well or that she connected with. Ferwerda, who worked at a retail consulting firm for about two years before launching Halfdays at 24, said she had the same experience after taking up skiing in Colorado.

“There really isn’t a brand that kind of connects with this younger, modern woman customer,” she said. “We wanted to bring something to the space that really welcomed women into the outdoors and felt more approachable.”

Building a European team, not a distribution network

Rather than enter Europe through a traditional distribution partner, Halfdays has built dedicated regional operations. It has appointed Chath Weerasinghe as general manager of Europe. Weerasinghe was previously an executive at the UK luxury skiwear brand Perfect Moment and spent several years in Canada Goose’s EMEA business.

“We didn’t want to simply appoint a distributor and start shipping product overseas,” Ferwerda said in a statement. “We wanted to build something from the ground-up, led by people who understand the European customer, the culture, and the opportunity within the market.”

The rollout will combine direct-to-consumer sales with a handful of key retailers over the first two years, both in mountain destinations and in cities. Ferwerda told FashionUnited the brand hopes to open its own stores within the next three to five years.

Ferwerda acknowledged that Europe already has many legacy ski brands. She said Halfdays aims to stand out by offering something “young, modern, fresh,” with an approachable, community-focused take on skiing. In the US, the brand has built its presence through on-mountain events, creator partnerships and retail relationships, and it plans a similar approach in Europe.

The choice of St. Moritz for the launch event reflects the brand’s design roots. Halfdays is known for bright colors and has long drawn on runway trends and 1960s vintage cars. “St. Moritz, of course, has the ice race, and there’s so much rich history with cars and fashion and art, so we really felt that it was reflective of being able to introduce the brand here first,” Ferwerda said.

A ‘fashion performance brand’

Halfdays offers several levels of technical performance. Its lighter pieces are water-resistant. Its skiwear and rain apparel are waterproof, typically rated at 15,000 to 20,000 millimetres. The recently introduced Gore-Tex pieces, rated at 28,000 millimetres, are designed for backcountry skiing and heavy rain. Ferwerda said nearly all of the brand’s materials are recycled and that it works closely with its factories and mills to test for chemicals. “Sustainability in the outdoor industry is table stakes to me,” she said. “Every outdoor brand should be really putting their money where their mouth is from a sustainability perspective.”

The brand’s customer, she added, is no longer defined by the slopes alone. “Our customer really is more of a city girl,” Ferwerda said. “She’s going to Pilates. She’s going for runs. She’s maybe cycling.” The company’s goal, she said, is “really to be a fashion performance brand,” leading with style while bringing performance products to a range of outdoor and active categories.

Menswear is not on the agenda. Ferwerda said Halfdays sees its opportunity in serving women in an industry that has traditionally been “pretty male-dominated.” Kidswear is “certainly interesting” to the company, she said, though there are no immediate plans or launch date.

“Our long-term goal with Halfdays is to build a global brand for women and make the outdoors more inclusive and fun and a welcoming space for them,” Ferwerda said. “Within the next one to five years, we want to see the brand with a more global reach, and of course, starting with Europe.”