Cutting-edge perfect fit for Marmot designer

Marmot design engineer Aubrey Vaughn, left, examines the jacket fit on Alexandra Schluter. (file photo by Christopher Chung)

When you’re out on the slopes this winter, you may notice a few ski jackets and pants with contrasting colors so bold and clear they can be seen from miles away.

Chances are, that ski apparel was made by Marmot of Rohnert Park, an outdoor-clothing company that has pioneered protection from the elements since 1975.

“The colors are bright, saturated and exciting because the sport is active and vibrant,” said 50-year-old Aubrey Vaughn of Sebastopol, a senior designer at Marmot. “There is also a safety factor to it. You can be seen better.”

Marrying cutting-edge style with function has been a goal of Vaughn’s since he started working for Marmot 21 years ago.

A soccer and track athlete at Berkeley High School, Vaughn went to UC Santa Barbara on a track scholarship, then worked with his father, theater and lighting designer Aubrey Wilson, in Los Angeles’ entertainment industry.

But the DNA he inherited from his mother, veteran costume designer Barbara Graham, eventually won out. After attending the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles and San Francisco, he freelanced as a pattern-maker.  The athlete-turned-designer found a perfect fit at Marmot, where he started his career in 1992 as head pattern-maker for ski gear, sleeping bags and backpacks.