Halfdays, a women’s skiwear brand, announced on Thursday that it raised a $10 million Series A funding round led by apparel manufacturer Kellwood Company with participation from Dick’s Sporting Goods Ventures and the model Taylor Hill.
Founded in 2020 by Ariana Ferwerda, Karelle Golda and Kiley McKinnon (a former Olympic skier), Halfdays was created to fill the gap in the relatively limited women’s skiwear market between the technically-sound but drab options from the category’s major players and fashion-first but less performance-ready (or ultra-expensive) items from brands like Moncler. Their line, meanwhile, features sleek, colourful outerwear, base layers and more, sits at an accessible but still aspirational price point — a jacket costs around $500, snow pants about $300. Halfdays also takes cues from the runway for colour and style; in recent years, it’s released trendy butter yellow and cocoa brown pants and jackets. For Winter 2025, it’s set to drop “glazed cherry” red tailored ski pants.
Adrian Kowalewski, Kellwood’s chief financial officer, said that the firm was attracted to the fact that Halfdays had managed to create a strong brand and product in a highly technical category. In the past five years, Halfdays notched wholesale partnerships with Dick’s Sporting Goods, REI and Nordstrom and a collaboration with the beauty brand Ilia. Its growth has also been propelled by its ambassador programme across various US cities, where fans of the brand can apply to host local hiking, skiing and walk-club meet-ups while receiving gear and a commission on sales. The brand anticipates it will reach $25 million in total revenue by October 2026.
Though outerwear has always been a key category for luxury, led by Canada Goose and Moncler, fashion has seen something of a ski boom in recent years as Chanel, Dior, Fendi and Armani have launched ski capsules and opened boutiques in mountain resorts. Mass retailer Zara joined the ranks last year with a ski-themed pop up in Shanghai, and other burgeoning brands, like Perfect Moment and Goldbergh, have seen growth, too.
Halfdays will use the funding to continue to expand its skiwear offer, while layering in more athletic gear for other activities such as hiking or even indoor workouts like pilates. Their product development approach — focused first on creating product that works for women’s bodies — will be carried over into the rest of the mix, said McKinnon.
Already, the brand has started releasing fleeces, leggings, sports bras and tops.
“We have so much room to grow. We have more women to get it on in the US, and expand globally at some point, but it felt like there was an opportunity to look at what our customer is doing on a year-round basis,” said Ferwerda, adding there were also more strategic reasons, including retailer demand and “we’ve always been advised if you stay in one category for too long it’s the only thing you’ll be known for.”
In addition to product expansion (led since February by chief product officer Annie Short, the former head of global women’s merchandising at The North Face) the cash injection will also help fuel the brand’s expansion into more wholesale doors — it’s in just 75 of around 800 Dick’s Sporting Goods stores nationwide, for example — and enter new retailers, including Shopbop and Revolve. After opening a Denver flagship this year, the brand is in the early stages of looking to add another of its own stores. As it grows on the wholesale side, keeping the business majority direct-to-consumer is a priority — as well as continuing to build its community ambassador programme, said Ferwerda, focusing on a wider swath of markets, including Chicago, Nashville and Austin.
Still, the brand faces a tough economic landscape, rife with new challenges like tariffs and wider unpredictability. After duties were announced, Halfdays selectively raised prices on more fashion-forward items and moved some production from China to Cambodia and Turkey.
Being small offers advantages and disadvantages in these circumstances, said Ferwerda.
“Small brands are going to get wiped out more easily. But big brands can’t move as fast as we can,” she said.
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