Peak Performance – from the slope to the golf course

Afternoon turns into evening and the low winter sun struggles to stay above Åreskutan’s clean-cut silhouette. Laughter, clinking glasses and upbeat tunes can be heard from the popular outdoor establishments that slope towards the edge of the mountain. Although the lifts are closing soon there are people everywhere. The bold, almost fluorescent colours of the winter apparel stand in sharp contrast to the brilliant white snow. Yellow, neon, turquoise, cerise – from a distance they look like a long strand of colourful beads. The year is 1986 and everyone is here. In Åre. The Swedish mountains are experiencing a skiing boom like never before. People are packed onto the ski slopes, into the hotels, the bars and the nightclubs. At the same time, others are embarking on a completely different journey. Away from the glitter, neon and extravagance. Towards a new chapter in Swedish fashion.

It was during this time in the little mountain village of Åre that the Peak Performance journey began. The journey towards becoming a pioneer in ski fashion and then later conquering the Swedish golf courses with their characteristic quality apparel. It all started when three passionate skiers – who preferred to spend every second they could on the slopes – were united by a frustration at not being able to find a ski apparel brand they liked or could identify with. In their eyes, the brightly-coloured and individualistic fashion of the 1980s was so passé. So what did they do? They simply made sure that such a clothing brand got created.

Stefan Engström was the world number two in freestyle skiing. Peter Blom worked as chief editor for Sweden’s biggest ski magazine, “Åka Skidor”. Christer Mårtensson was a graphic designer. And before long a fourth person also joined the team, the former alpine skier and ski salesman Jonas Ottosson. With their varied backgrounds and passion for the sport, they brought an abundance of ideas and enthusiasm to the project. However, they quickly realised that the original goal of just making apparel for themselves and their friends was much too small when demand quickly grew. After an inspirational trip to the US where they were captivated by the culture and styles worn around the universities, the group came back full of ideas for how they would create a clothing brand with simple, cool designs but above all with superior functionality.

Since the starting point for the individuals behind Peak Performance was to always just to do things they liked doing, it was only natural that their entry into the world of golf came a couple of years later. Winter was spent on the ski slopes of course, but in summer you’d find the group of friends out on the golf course.

They quickly saw synergies in functionality since the technical fabrics found in the ski apparel could easily be transferred to the needs of a golfer. “Peak Performance was actually one of the first brands in the world to work with Gore-Tex, which is now standard in many garments”, explains Staffan Thomasson, the company’s head designer for golf.

In the mid-1990s golf grew significantly at Peak Performance and over a period of 10-12 years, the company doubled its turnover several years in a row and was the main sponsor of a number of big European tour events. Now both skiing and golf were of equal importance at the company.

Over 30 years later, Peak Performance is an established brand in Scandinavian golf and even if much has changed over the years, both in terms of trends and styles, there’s a core value that still remains within the company.

“Even if everything else changes in the company, quality will still be number one”, explains Göran Bånge, sales manager for golf at Peak Performance.

What is quality for Peak Performance?

“In truth it’s the entire experience of the product. How it feels, how well it fits after a number of washes, how good the collar looks after a while, how well the colours still look in the garment, well, pretty much everything”.

Åre, where the journey once began. Who could have imagined that the classic ski brand would become a staple of the world of golf?

The journey to a finished garment hanging stylishly on a clothing shelf in a Dormy store is both long and winding. It’s scrutinised, adjusted and adapted vigorously along the way to ensure the collection is as good and complete as possible. The starting point is the previous year’s models and which of them will stay on the shelf and which will be rejected. From here, Staffan Thomasson and his design team start sketching out a collection that needs to follow the golf fashion trends but above all must make its own mark. But mostly it’s about testing the garment in real conditions out on the golf course”, says Thomasson.

“I develop a number of prototypes which my colleagues and our ambassadors get to test and give feedback on. How does the garment feel, how is the quality of the fabric, the colour scheme, the stretch in the swing, the garment in different weather conditions and so on. It’s often a very enjoyable and rewarding process”.

How much do commercial interests clash with your artistic vision as a designer here?

“If I’d been given free reign obviously I’d have chosen the very finest fabrics and the most exclusive materials but the reality is that we need to stick to making products that all golfers can afford. So it’s an equation we’re always trying to balance. But this is where I think Peak Performance have found a really good way of offering high quality and apparel that’s affordable”.

Many golf enthusiasts probably envy the tour players who are fully kitted out with everything from customised clubs and luxury tour bags to the latest golf apparel. Being seen on the top players is becoming more and more important to the brands as golf grows as a sport and the players today reach an even larger audience via social media. But being an established brand on the tour is not the top priority for Peak Performance.

“The most important thing is that the players who use Peak Performance think it’s the best clothing brand they’ve ever had. If we design stylish, quality apparel, this makes the players happy and they radiate this. In the long run, this also builds credibility”, says Göran Bånge.

“Like our head ambassador Joakim Lagergren for example. He prioritises Peak Performance and genuinely loves the clothes which makes it a perfect match”.

Thomasson jumps in.

“And there’s also a big advantage to working with players who like our apparel from a product point of view since we have been in close discussion with the players to continuously improve the product”.

What’s most important to the modern golfer?

“Golfers today want high functionality and an ideal fit. With our background in the ski world, we’re perfectly placed to work with sporty garments that offer exactly that. But at the same time with a fairly toned down and sober style”, says Thomasson.

What does the perfect golf outfit for 2021 look like?

“It starts with a pair of well-fitting stylish trousers. They also have plenty of stretch and are incredibly comfortable. They are very functional and fashionable. For the top, there are many different options. It depends on how you feel. It could be a simple modern narrow stripe or lots of expressive details. High functionality is very important. Generally there are lots of grey and light shades”, says Staffan Thomasson.

Peak Performance is now internationally recognised with shops and employees all across the globe. It may once have been hard to imagine that the company would journey from a bright white snowy landscape in Åre to a sun-drenched golf course in Dubai. Imagination is the only limit to what may come next.

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