1/1/2024 0 Comments Houdini clothingWe are inspired by Lotta’s determination, creativity and will to drive innovation. Houdini’s history is characterized by a constant will to shake things up. Especially for the sustainability work that lies at the heart of everything that Houdini does. I am very proud of what I did achieve and to see how Houdini is evolving. Houdini was founded because I needed clothes that didn’t exist, Lotta remembers. Now, over 25 years later, Lotta is still a part owner of Houdini, but she is no longer a part of the daily operations. A company run by a woman was also something that stood out in the outdoor business that was, and to a great extent still is, run by men. Functional wear with a stylish, minimalistic look was something new at the time. The first collection i 1993 was made by a local seamstress in Vällingby outside Stockholm, but already for the second collection she had to find a production partner with bigger capacity. Lotta Giornofelice and Hope Leezum Namgyal, the Princess of Sikkim, India 1996. Then we won the Maldens Mills Apex Awards three years in a row for my products. Eventually he let me purchase fabric in smaller volumes and now everything was in place to start Houdini. The Europeans sales manager had never seen fleece underwear before, Lotta says, but I managed to convince him of the products’ value. But if you can climb Himalayan mountains you won’t let a sales policy stop you. The problem was that they didn’t take order for less than one kilometer of fabric. Lotta invited herself to the Malden Mills textile plant in Lawrence outside of Boston and brought her hand made prototypes. The only problem was that they didn’t take order for less than one kilometer of fabric. She had seen a stretchy fleece fabric from the world leading American manufacturer Malden Mills, later Polartec, that would be perfect. Lotta now had a design concept and a name for her company, but she was still missing the perfect material. But I knew there was a need for my products and I had an enormous drive and credibility in the community. It has to fill a function or solve a problem. For me it was important not to start a company just to sell stuff, Lotta says. The garments became an instant success and the rumor spread in the climbing and ski community like a wildfire. Lotta started making underwear in fleece to herself and her friends. Garments that kept essential muscle groups warm but didn’t make the user overheated or sweaty. Houdini's founder Lotta Giornofelice and an early trade show booth, complete with our first garments and hand made fleece flower.Īs a climber and mountaineer Lotta was missing clothes for start- and stop activities like climbing and ski touring.
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