Willy Bogner

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Willy Bogner, Jr. (born 1942) is a renowned fashion designer and inheritor of the Bogner clothing brand, originally set up as "Willy-Bogner-Skivertrieb" by his father, Willy Bogner Snr. Bogner Snr was an eleven-time German and five-time Bavarian nordic skiing champion, allowing him to establish "Bogner" as a ski and sportswear clothing brand launched in 1932, having already outfitted the German national ski team since 1936.

Bogner, Jr. competed at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley and actually led the competition in the men's slalom after the first run only to not finish with a fall during the second run. In 1962, he became double world student champion in alpine skiing's slalom and alpine combined event. His best FIS Alpine skiing results were a 4th in a 1966 event in Chile in a slalom event.

Willy Bogner Jr. was a familiar face in the international ski scene until 1967, when he decided to concentrate his efforts on film-making. He returned in 1971 to launch his first ski collection, "Formula W". An American outlet in Newport, Vermont was created in 1973 while a tennis fashion line debuted the following year. A golf fashion line was created in 1976. When his father died in 1977, Bogner returned to Munich from America to assume control of the company. In 1983, a sunglasses line was created.

He has worked as a cameraman in several films requiring complex ski footage. His most notable work in this field can be seen in James Bond films from the 1960s through to the 1980s, specifically A View to a Kill for which he won the prestigious Bambi award in 1985.

He continues to be active within both the fashion and film aspects of his career. In 1998 he produced and presented his own weekly TV series, Willy Bogner's Snow Show, and since then he has also produced several specialist ski films, the most impressive of which are his IMAX movies. Meanwhile, the Bogner brand continues to roll out seasonal collections and even boasts its own cosmetics range for men and women (Debuted in 1985 and expanded fourteen years later.).

Bogner received the "Bundesverdienstkreuz" medal on May 30, 1996.

In 1999 he was awarded the Goldene Seidenschleife ("Golden Ribbon of Silk") to recognise excellence in enterprise.

Among the German athletes wearing the Bogner line at the 2006 Winter Olympics were Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle (cross country skiing), Martina Glagow (biathlon), Georg Hettich (nordic combined), Georg Hackl (luge), Anni Friesinger (speed skating), Viola Bauer (cross country skiing), and Tobias Angerer (cross country skiing)

[edit] External links

• Bogner official site (English) & (German)
• FIS Profile (As Willi Bogner - Alpine)