Wini Jones

Wini knew she wanted to be a skiwear designer at 16 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She had been on skis since the age of 3. Racing in really cold weather, Wini soon realized skiwear design needed some major improvements. She followed up two university degrees in Textile Science and French, with a year at Der Modeschule der Stadt Wien (Fashion School of the City of Vienna) Austria. She stayed another winter teaching skiing in French, German and English in Zermatt, Switzerland, and Innsbuck, Austria. Wini joined Roffe skiwear in 67 where she remained as the designer for 30 years. The factory was in downtown Seattle and for many years Roffe was producing 10,000 garments a month sending them to 1000 ski retailers across the country. After the company was sold in 1996, Wini retired, then for multiple years, she ran the judging of a world wide design contest for Malden Mills, the maker of Polartec fleece. Wini was inducted into the Council of Fashion Designer of America (CFDA), was Citizen of the Year on Bainbridge Island in 2007. Currently she is very much involved as a mentor and judge for classes and competitions for the students in the U of W’s Foster School of Business. She is also VP for the International Skiing History Association, the publisher of Skiing History magazine.