For almost five years now, the Alpenbrevet clothing collection has been produced by Italian brand Giordana. Before they are ready to wear however there is a long journey involving hours of work. We spoke to Ken Kübler who, together with his wife Silvia, runs Kübler Sport GmbH – the official Giordana distributor in Switzerland – as well as being responsible for the design of the Alpenbrevet collection. Find out more about his exciting relationship with cycling and what it takes to create a clothing collection in our interview.
Alpenbrevet: Ken, you’ve been in the cycling business for a long time and you’ve been designing cycling clothing for almost as long. Where does your passion in these fields stem from?
Ken Kübler: As my surname suggests, I grew up in a cycling family. At the age of 21, alongside cycling I discovered a passion for the perfect textile and for transferring graphics from paper to clothing.
Your surname almost compels you to achieve great things in cycling. Have you ever participated in the Swiss Cycling Alpenbrevet?
No, not so far. I know all the passes individually, but since I’ve been a partner of the Alpenbrevet, I prefer to be on site in Andermatt providing participants with the best possible advice.
You refer to the strong partnership between Giordana and the Alpenbrevet yourself. Why do these two brands go so well together?
When we are in Andermatt, talking to the participants and seeing the many smiling faces after crossing the finish line, we can feel the passion for cycling. It is precisely this passion for cycling that Giordana embodies. In addition, the field of participants is just as diverse as the Giordana range.
So let’s talk about this range and, more specifically, the Alpenbrevet collection. What are the most important steps before the finished clothing collection arrives in the customer’s mailbox?
We start working on next year’s design in the summer before the Alpenbrevet. After several ideas and variations, we decide on the final design together with the organiser. Then production starts in Italy, where the pieces of fabric are first cut in each size (XXS-5XL).
The individual pieces are then printed before being machine sewn together to create the finished garments. The majority of these production steps are done by hand. After the quality check, the collection is delivered directly to us from Italy so that we can prepare it for dispatch to the customer.
And which item of clothing stands out in the 2025 collection?
We can offer participants the new Giordana rain jacket in the Alpenbrevet look. Made from ultra-thin material, the jacket combines a rating of 10,000mm water resistance with an incredibly compact pack size. Just the thing for an Alpine challenge.
