Italian sportswear firm Ellesse is to launch a new ski collection this fall, thereby returning to its roots. The company last made skiwear more than ten years ago and was their first product to enter the market in 1959, contrary to popular belief that it was tennis, for which Ellesse is currently best known. The new skiwear line will be retro Eighties in style, with a colour palette to match. The Ellesse name is based on the initials, L.S., of its founder, Leonardo Servadio, an Italian tailor with an innovative approach to styling and manufacture. In 1959, Servadio created a revolutionary stretch ski pant which established Ellesse among the elite alpine social circles, making it the ultimate aspirational brand. The immense success of Ellesse in winter sports clothing provided a perfect passport to expand the brand and transfer the design philosophy into the equally prestigious world of tennis.