Willy Bogner

Willy Bogner, Jr. (born January 23, 1942 in Munich, Germany) is a former alpine ski racer and a renowned fashion designer and inheritor of the Bogner clothing brand, originally set up as "Willy-Bogner-Skivertrieb" by his father, Willy Bogner, Sr..

Just turned age 18, Bogner, Jr. competed for West Germany at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley. He led the competition in the men's slalom after the first run, but fell during the second run. That season, he won the prestigious Lauberhorn downhill at Wengen, Switzerland.

In 1962, he became double world student champion in alpine skiing's slalom and alpine combined event.

His best result in the World Championships was a 4th place in the slalom (& 5th place in the combined) at the 1966 World Championships in Portillo, Chile.

Willy Bogner, Jr. was a familiar face in the international ski scene until 1967, when he decided to concentrate his efforts on film-making. He returned in 1971 to launch his first ski collection, "Formula W". An American outlet in Newport, Vermont was created in 1973 while a tennis fashion line debuted the following year. A golf fashion line was created in 1976. When his father died in 1977, Bogner returned to Munich from America to assume control of the company. In 1983, a sunglasses line was created.

He has worked as a cameraman in several films requiring complex ski footage. His most notable work in this field can be seen in James Bond films from the 1960s through to the 1980s, specifically A View to a Kill for which he won the prestigious Bambi Award in 1985 and the Bavarian Film Award, Special Prize in 1986.[1]

He continues to be active within both the fashion and film aspects of his career. In 1998 he produced and presented his own weekly TV series, Willy Bogner's Snow Show, and since then he has also produced several specialist ski films, the most impressive of which are his IMAX movies. Meanwhile, the Bogner brand continues to roll out seasonal collections and even boasts its own cosmetics range for men and women (Debuted in 1985 and expanded fourteen years later.).

Bogner received the "Bundesverdienstkreuz" medal on May 30, 1996.

In 1999 he was awarded the Goldene Seidenschleife ("Golden Ribbon of Silk") to recognise excellence in enterprise.