One of the best parts of ISPO’s winter fashion trade show in Munich, Germany, is the presentation of their ISPO BRAND NEW awards which go to some of the most innovative, technical, and in some cases, humanitarian and fashionable start-up products in the world. ISPO Brand New Awards is the world’s largest start-up competition in the sporting goods industry with winner selected by an international jury of experts.
The jury focuses on the following categories: product, degree of innovation, design, brand features, market potential, and marketing.
On January 29, 2012, during the upcoming show, exhibitors and attendees will have a chance to see the top winners from a variety of categories. For our purposes of global youth culture, we’ve chosen the top winners that best represent innovation within our genre.
The overall grand winner is the Wavegarden. While wave gardens are getting built in various locations inland around North America and Europe, this one features some startling consistently. In YouTube demo, top ASP surfers demo-ed the wave to give their thumbs up or down on the conditions, with all of them saying it was the best artificial wave they’d ever ridden. Wavegarden is a manmade wave that provides swell from a base that is 80m x 300m large pool in which the patented technology creates a perfectly crafted wave over and over again. Not only does the wavegarden concept provide surfing to a greater audience, the marketable gave it a high ranking as well. Currently there is one Wavegarden using this technology built in northern Spain.
Another winner also had to do with surfing which is the wavecave—a surfboard bag that can carry 3 surfboards that converts to a tent, built from Cave Sports. Wavecave is essentially a 3-in-1 product: surfboard bag, tent, and wind shield. Now if only someone would do this for snowboard bags.
Soft ski boot technology has been kicked around for year, so we were pleased to hear that FreeMotion creation a soft ski boot that actually works. Finally, there’s an option to incredibly stiff ski boots that turn some skiers into snowboarders just because of the uncomfortable boot problem. How’d they do it? The strength lies in the framework and a special tongue construction that connects directly to the ski and special lacing which causes a sure and fixed heel stop.
Another category that’s always intriguing with ISPO’s Brand New Awards come in technical and fashionable outerwear. A jacket, created by Polychromelab out of Austria, helps regulate the wearer’s temperature through reflective panels and strips while still looking fashionable. A new laminate material protects the body from both heat and cold, developed from the principles of UV-rays, with absorption from ambient temperature and the adaption to fit any weather condition. The black side takes in heat and delivers warmth to you. The silver side reflects heat for cooling throughout. This jacket took home the winner in the Sportswear category.
Tapping into the growing trends of slimmer silhouetted bubble jackets (which started from The North Face and Patagonia), the Poler Camping Stuff outfit is unique and functional. The company based out of the U.S. captures a functional purpose but with a vintage, 70’s CB-jacket type of vibe.
