Fullpipe Protective Snowboard Trousers (for Dainese)
Design and production of a prototype set of snowboard trousers for the Bordercross xtreme snowboard speciality.
Domus Academy Master in Design, Master Thesis Project, 1999
Boardercross snowboarding demands full lower-body mobility while requiring serious impact protection at the hips, knees, and shins. Existing snowboard trousers forced riders to choose between freedom of movement and adequate padding — the protection pads shifted out of position during the aggressive lateral movements the discipline required.
I designed and prototyped a set of snowboard trousers with a crossed-stitching pattern that locked the protection pads in place regardless of how the rider moved. The design was produced by Dainese as the Valdez/Laax collection from 2000 to 2003, and went on to inspire several of their competitive snowboardwear lines.
Crossed stitching kept protection pads locked in position
The core innovation was the stitching pattern: crossed seams that created a structural lattice around each protection pad. Unlike straight stitching, which allows pads to slide along the seam line, the crossed pattern restricted movement in all directions — keeping pads exactly where the rider needed them during impacts, jumps, and lateral carving.
The design went from technical drawings through to a fully functional prototype, tested against the specific movement demands of boardercross riding.
From prototype to production
The prototype was built and tested to validate that the crossed-stitching pattern actually performed as designed — keeping pads in place without restricting the range of motion needed for competitive snowboarding.
Dainese produced the design as the Valdez/Laax collection
Dainese adopted the design for their Valdez/Laax snowboard pants collection, produced from 2000 to 2003. The crossed-stitching concept went on to influence several of Dainese's subsequent competitive snowboardwear collections.
Results
Snowboard protection trousers with a crossed-stitching pattern that kept pads locked in place during boardercross riding. Produced by Dainese as the Valdez/Laax collection (2000–2003) and inspiring multiple subsequent competitive snowboardwear lines. Designed as master project at Domus Academy, Milan.
Produced by Dainese · 2000–2003 · crossed-stitching innovation · Master Project · Domus Academy