As part of the brand’s sustainability initiative, IWC has embarked on its first partnership with the Faction Collective, a ski brand who proudly operates a 100 percent renewable energy factory in Austria. Faction was founded in 2006, and since then, it has been the choice of top athletes around the world, including IWC ambassador and the youngest Olympic gold medalist in freestyle skiing, Eileen Gu. Together, IWC and Faction have designed a set of skis to pair with the watchmaker’s Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun Edition “Lake Tahoe” in white ceramic.
Earlier this year, IWC introduced two new iterations of its iconic Top Gun chronograph, a striking green “Woodland” model and a crisp white “Lake Tahoe” model. Lake Tahoe itself is about an hour and a half outside of the Navy’s Fighter Weapons School Top Gun, so the popular skiing destination feels like the perfect inspiration for the snowy white-ceramic watch with contrasting black dial and luminescent accents.
The IWC Top Gun “Lake Tahoe” serves as further inspiration for the brand’s collaboration with the Faction Collective, which, for the first time, has created skis with a luminescent design. The Faction Studio 1 IWC Collab Ltd. design features a tone-on-tone white top sheet and a black base along with the words “Lake Tahoe” and “IWC,” both of which glow in the dark as the sun starts to set on the slopes.
Environmental responsibility was a continued focus in the production of the alpine accessory, which feature a wooden core that’s made of sustainably harvested poplar and ash. However, this doesn’t come at the expense of functionality, with the limited-edition skis engineered to the same specifications used for Eileen Gu’s.
“Graphic design with a clear and recognisable expression is an important tool for us at IWC to emphasize the engineering expertise and technicality of the brand,” says Nicholas Schmidt, IWC’s head of brand creation and corporate design. “Therefore, designing a pair of skis with Faction was a great challenge. As an enthusiastic snowboarder and skier, I thoroughly enjoyed this project and am very proud of the result.”
The Faction Studio 1 IWC Collab Ltd. skis are available today, on Fraction’s website, in a limited run of 55 pairs in two different sizes, each priced at US$749 (almost RM3,300). With your purchase, you’ll also have the option to buy another accessory—your own matching Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun Edition “Lake Tahoe” watch.
Previously published on Robb Report.
