Most New Yorkers greet a historic blizzard with tactical layering and weatherproof pragmatism. Chloé Kim, however, has spent her career defying gravity in sub-zero conditions. A little snowstorm was never going to dictate her wardrobe.
Fresh off the 2026 Winter Olympics—where she claimed silver in the women’s snowboard halfpipe—the 25-year-old arrived in New York just as the Northeast was blanketed in white. Instead of leaning into après-ski tropes, Kim delivered something far more unexpected: two skirt-forward looks that felt almost rebelliously springlike against the frostbitten cityscape.
Her first ensemble was lifted straight from Thom Browne’s spring 2026 runway—a knowing nod to preppy Americana refracted through Kim’s athlete-meets-it-girl lens. The centrepiece was a white miniskirt detailed with triangular strips of navy, red, and white fabric, engineered to mimic pleats. Up top, she doubled down on the collegiate codes: a pale blue button-down, a sharply tailored beige blazer, and a diagonally striped red-and-white tie.
White pumps and varsity socks anchored the look in Browne’s signature play on uniform dressing, while a structured brown-and-white handbag added polish. The result? Snow-day dressing that rejected parkas in favour of precision tailoring.
Later, Kim swapped schoolyard nostalgia for high-gloss impact. A bright-orange patent leather midi skirt cut through the monochrome blizzard backdrop like a flare. Styled with a brown collared jacket, black clutch, and classic pumps, the look struck a masterful balance between boldness and restraint. The palette may have shifted, but the message remained: winter is no excuse for sartorial hibernation.
Kim’s post-Olympic fashion moment feels particularly resonant given her recent reflections on returning to competition. After years under immense pressure, she spoke candidly about rediscovering joy in the sport—about loving it again. That renewed lightness seems to extend beyond the halfpipe. There’s play in these outfits, a sense of someone dressing for herself rather than the elements.
If style is about confidence under any conditions, then Kim’s blizzard skirts make perfect sense. After all, when you’ve mastered icy heights on a snowboard, navigating Manhattan in a miniskirt is just another kind of balance.
