Chats From the Chairlift Vol. 2 | Flylow's Brit White

After speaking with Flylow owner and founder Dan Abrams, it was only logical that we seek out the past-Granite Chief employee, and current designer of all things cool, Brit White. We caught up with her at Flylow's Tahoe office and chatted about what got her into the industry, growing up in Truckee, and where things go from here.

You used to work for Granite Chief. When was that, and how did you like it?

Gosh, I was in high school, I want to say it was my sophomore year. It was fun. My dad helped remodel that building. I’ve known people there, that are still there, forever. It was kind of like family. It was really fun working in a ski shop. Some of my buddies worked in the tuning area. It was a classic ski kid job.

So how long have you been working for Flylow now? Did you start out doing what you’re doing? Or have you changed roles within the company?

 They brought me on as a freelance designer. So I’ve always been doing design. But I was just a freelancer. Then slowly worked my way up to, for lack of a better term, a trial period. Then, just this past year, I was offered a full-time position. I’ve been with them about 3 years now.

Do you see yourself sticking with them for a while?

 Yeah, I love working for a small company. In school I interned with Quiksilver and Armada. Just to kind of get a base of “pretty corporate” to not really. I definitely liked being at Armada. I had a Nerf gun fight with the owner of Armada. You would have never done that with Quiksilver. People there are still amazing, they’re still my friends, but I wanted to be more than just a number.

You grew up in Truckee, right? How do you think that growing up in Truckee has influenced your design style. When you are designing a new garment, what type of skier are you picturing for that?

 It’s hard to say that growing up in Truckee helps my design. I would say that being an athlete helps that side of things because you understand technical versus fashion, and all that kind of stuff. Obviously it goes hand in hand, but you just have a better outlook and vision as to how the garment is going to look and perform. You have experience of wearing things in different situations. I’ve worn coats and thought “this is terrible”, so then I learned what to do and what not to do. Things that bother me personally. I will say this, I grew up x-country skiing and snowboarding. Then I switched, my friends literally kidnapped me and took me freestyle skiing. That day, I slid a box, and I’ve never looked back. I grew up pretty much park skiing, I competed in halfpipe and rail jams and all that stuff. My form of skiing is so much different than the Flylow customer. So that has been one thing where I’ve had to learn who that is and it’s a different demographic than I grew up in. Which is really fun, because I’m learning about the same sport but something new. I would say that my biggest challenge is putting myself in the Flylow women’s shoes (customers), because I was on the Burton, Roxy side of things for so long. But it’s really fun growing with the company and getting introduced to everything.

"I grew up x-country skiing and snowboarding. Then I switched, my friends literally kidnapped me and took me freestyle skiing. That day, I slid a box, and I’ve never looked back."

 

Where do you see Flylow’s role within the ski-clothing industry? And how do you think that Flylow coming into their own has changed things, if it has?

 Greg holds the company to really high standards. We spend a lot of time on fit, and finding correct fabric. Just dialing in all those things. Because all in all, those things are really important. On top of color, of course. But the longevity of the coat, and having it fit properly, that is really important. Because you could go buy a shirt, and think “oh, this is the coolest thing ever.” But as you wear it over time, it’s the most uncomfortable thing ever. Then you’re never going to wear it. Especially with outerwear. Usually when you buy outerwear, you’re going to have it for a while. Not all of us can buy new outerwear every year. That is the beauty of being a small company, but also having a boss that pays a lot of attention to detail, which is great. Those small details, things that most people don’t even notice, it goes a long way. Just driving the industry of being durable, really stepping into the athlete’s shoes. I think we’re growing, and I think we have a pretty strong foot in the door. I would love to see it grow to where we have our strong pieces, and backcountry skiing, since that’s what we specialize in. Then diving into the resort wear, which we have with our resort wear. I want to see Flylow as a one-stop shop.

What’s the biggest challenge when it comes to making Flylow stand out within the industry, while still producing the quality garments that Flylow is known for?

 One of the biggest challenges is being progressive in styles, but you can only go so far when it comes to a technical garment. Greg and I will think “this is sick looking”, but then buyers, who are used to maybe looking at the same garment every year will think “what is that?” When in reality, if they wore it, maybe they’d love it. But they’re used to the norm. That’s one hard thing, is how set the industry is. People joke about how when you go to North Star, it’s a fashion show, because it is. But when it comes to backcountry skiing, technical comes first. Because obviously you need that. But, me personally, I think it would be sick if we could be the leaders of pushing technical but cute, for women, and badass for guys, stuff for backcountry skiing. You know, it doesn’t look like your average gear. We want to set ourselves apart, because if everything was the same, then what’s the point?

"I think it would be sick if we could be the leaders of pushing technical but cute, for women, and badass for guys, stuff for backcountry skiing… because if everything was the same, then what’s the point?"

 

Are you a backcountry skier yourself?

 I just got a setup. And I just took my level 1. I’m really excited to dive into that whole thing. It’s amazing. Even the little bit that I’ve done… I will never snowshoe again. Just the whole thing, earning your turns, the whole planning process, getting yourself up there. It’s so much more than taking a lift. You’re with a tight group of people and you’re out in the wilderness. It’s way better than hiking in the summertime. Because you get to ski down!

You kind of already touched on this, but do you find yourself making something that you think is really cool, but has to be abandoned for commercial viability?

It happens. I’m still learning that you can’t always design for yourself. And every designer comes across that bridge where you really like something, but “they” didn’t. You have to let it go and move on, it wasn’t meant to be.

Is that hard? Do you ever take it personally when you’ve designed the coolest piece ever, in your mind, and then it’s just not popular?

I’ve gotten more used to it. At first it’s “how could someone not like this?” But, if you take it personally, you’re not going to last. It’s the name of the game. It’s definitely something you have to work on. But, as I’ve come to find, not everything works. Sometimes it just doesn’t connect from one point to another. It wasn’t meant to be, and we’ll try again next year.

"It’s way better than hiking in the summertime. Because you get to ski down!"