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Olympians were bundled in cashmere and vintage wool on the opening night of Sundance, courtesy of J. Crew’s new U.S Ski & Snowboard collection.
Team USA skiers Nick Page, Tess Johnson and Lauren Macuga found reprieve from the sub-30 degree weather on Thursday night at Main Street’s Firewood restaurant for a dinner hosted by Variety and J. Crew celebrating the brand’s partnership with Team USA ahead of the 2026 Olympics.
Variety On the Road to Cortina Presented by J. Crew took place in the restaurant’s dark-lit, cabin-esque downstairs dining room, where guests sipped on specialty Alpenglow cocktails before being ushered to their seats, topped off with J. Crew gift bags. For dinner, attendees enjoyed a cozy meal consisting of Tenderloin steak, a Winter Gourd dish and an assortment of sweet treats and coffee for dessert.
Sundance serves as a homecoming of sorts for both Macuga and Page, who attended high school together in Park City — a longtime pipeline for elite U.S. ski talent. Both have emerged as two of Team USA’s most compelling young winter-sports standouts. However, Macuga, who suffered a torn ACL in late November, will not be able to compete at this year’s Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, where she had been considered a medal hopeful in downhill and super-G. The injury required surgery and forced her to miss the remainder of the 2025-26 World Cup season
“I’m just a little bit saddened,” Macuga said through tears during a panel hosted by Variety editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh. “But I get to go there and cheer on my teammates and hopefully watch them win some medals.”
Also in attendance was iconic U.S. alpine skiier Picabo Stree, who told Page that both her sons have his autograph “on the wall in their rooms.” “I have to get yours next,” he quipped from stage.
Later, Libby Wadle, CEO of J. Crew, Sophie Goldschmidt, president and CEO of U.S Ski & Snowboard and Kelvin Ulrich, Chairman of the Board of J. Crew, took the stage to discuss their three-year partnership, which they say they already plan on expanding.
“It was one of the most authentic fits,” Goldschmidt said about joining forces. When asked about her first impression of the collection, she admitted that she “normally has an opinion on everything.” “It’s really annoying actually,” she joked. But when she saw the new pieces, “I literally had nothing to say. It was like, ‘Check, check, check!’ It was exactly what we dreamed it would be.”
Rooted in J.Crew’s longtime connection to alpine life and après-ski dressing, the collection spans refined knitwear, elevated loungewear and essential cold-weather accessories for women, men and kids, finished with exclusive vintage-inspired patches. Creatively, the collection draws heavily from the brand’s archives. The partnership also expands into performance territory via a ski capsule developed with Kappa, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s official on-mountain partner, featuring technical jackets for women and men that blend high-performance functionality with polished mountain style.
So, how do you break through in the fashion world? Setoodeh points out that similar to indie film, it has become difficult to stand out in an increasingly saturated landscape. “It’s about authenticity” Ulrich says, adding that plopping a celebrity in a campaign isn’t effective if not used intelligently. “Just having someone who looks great on a billboard isn’t necessarily going to sell clothes.”
“People want to be inspired,” he continues. “It’s hard to find inspiration. How do you do that? Partnering with inspiring organizations. For us, that’s Team USA Ski & Snowboard.”
English (US) ·