MILAN — Mario Colombo, president of Italian sportswear stalwart Colmar, has died at age 71.
The cause and place of death could not be learned.
A third generation member of the family company, he joined Manifattura Mario Colombo & C. SpA, the Monza, Italy-based parent of the Colmar skiwear brand, in 1972. At the time the brand was synonymous with the country’s ski athletes having outfitted champions such as Gustav and Roland Thoeni, Piero Gros, Paolo De Chiesa and Helmuth Schmalzl, among others.
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Colombo steered it through the ‘90s — when it endorsed such athletes as Deborah Compagnoni and Alberto Tomba — and into the new millennium, expanding the brand’s footprint into the lifestyle segment with the launch of the Originals collection.
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Through the latter, Colmar linked with a roster of fashion designers, including Shayne Oliver for its A.G.E. project and, most recently, with White Mountaineering’s Yosuke Aizawa.
Through its skiwear division the brand has been the outfitter of winter athletes internationally, most recently supplying gear to the France, Slovenia and Belgium teams.
“Over the course of more than 50 years of professional activity, Mario Colombo played a central role in the company’s development, distinguishing himself through his expertise, vision and dedication,” the company said in a statement Monday.
“Alongside his entrepreneurial commitment, he will be remembered for his remarkable human qualities: his smile, warmth, affability and his ability to put anyone at ease in any circumstance were the traits that always defined him,” it said.
The company was helmed by Colombo alongside his cousins Giulio and Carlo, co-chief executive officers.
The Colmar executive will be lying in state at the company’s headquarters in Monza on Thursday from from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The funeral will take place on Friday at the Duomo di Monza cathedral.