Men's Spyder Fashion Brand

In 1978, while David Jacobs' sons were in the ski race circuit, he noted that there was only one brand of race sweaters available. He believed he could make a better product and sell it to the close-knit race community. This business, named David L Jacobs, Incorporated, began as a small mail order business in his Boulder, Colorado. The Spyder profile is a founder's story told in full, and that opening is its engine: a father at the races, a monopoly he thought he could beat, and a mail order start in Boulder. Spyder is an American Colorado-based manufacturer of high-end skiing apparel - one of the world's largest ski specialty brands.

David Jacobs, Spyder's founder and chairman, was born in Montreal, Canada, and began skiing at age 13. At 21, he won the Quebec Kandahar, and from 1957 through 1961 was a member of the Canadian National Ski Team. In 1957 he captured the title of Canadian Downhill Ski Champion, and was the top-ranked member of the Canadian FIS Team the following season. He was the first full-time head coach and program administrator for the Canadian National Ski Team from 1964 to 1966. The founder's racing résumé is given in full because it is the brand's credential: the man judging the race sweaters had raced, won and coached at the top of the sport.

Spider Pants, a Ferrari Spelling, and Layers

After the successful introduction of race sweaters, Jacobs added ski pants to the catalog offering. One of the earliest creations was a navy blue racing pant with yellow striped pads extending from the knee to the hip. His son Billy mentioned that skiers were calling them "spider" pants, due to their spider leg-like appearance. Jacobs recognized this as an opportunity to have a powerful, lasting name and logo, and renamed the company. A passionate sports car fan, he borrowed the spelling with a "y" from the Ferrari Spyder. The early mail order catalogs included race pants, padded sweaters, Vuarnet sunglasses, bent downhill poles and other racing accessories.

Find the perfect layer for your activity - winter clothing has many layers, and the closing advice is to choose Spyder for the outerlayer, midlayer and innerlayer of clothing. Read with the history, the layering line is the modern form of the founding idea: a complete system sold to the same close-knit winter community the mail order catalog first served. In 2004, Apax Partners, a global private equity group, acquired Spyder. The company acquired Cloudveil Mountain Works in 2008 - founded in 1997, Cloudveil manufactures apparel for the outdoor, snowsports, fly fishing and casual apparel markets. The official men's route is linked in References below.

Reading This Spyder Record

Spyder, eighth entry under S in the Men's Fashion Brands directory: begun in 1978 in Boulder, Colorado as David L Jacobs, Incorporated, a small mail order business, after founder David Jacobs - a former Canadian National Ski Team member, 1957 Canadian Downhill Ski Champion and the team's first full-time head coach - saw only one brand of race sweaters on his sons' circuit; renamed for the "spider" racing pants, its y spelling borrowed from the Ferrari Spyder; acquired by Apax Partners in 2004; purchaser of Cloudveil Mountain Works in 2008. An American, Colorado-based manufacturer of high-end skiing apparel, and one of the world's largest ski specialty brands.

Photos