TIME MACHINE: 1978

Welcome back to the Time Machine!

Was 1978 an iconic year? We say yes! On April 22nd, US comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi appeared on Saturday Night Live wearing black suits, a tie, a fedora, and sunglasses. From that moment on, they were known as the ‘Blues Brothers’, a duo that went down in history, thanks to John Landis’ film of the same name. (Which hit the box office in 1980). Nineteen seventy-eight was also the year of Grease, a musical starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. It became the most-watched film of the year thanks to its main characters Sandy and Danny, still engraved in our collective memory.

It was an iconic year for FILA too. In 1978 the company continued its global success and performed side-by-side with some historic names in sport. The first was the Swede Ingemar Stenmark, described by the Olympic committee as ‘the most important alpine skier ever’. His long career includes 86 wins in giant slalom and slalom. In 1978, he was at his peak. He won the World Cup, the giant slalom and the special slalom for the third year running. With this achievement, he trumped two other FILA heroes: Phil Mahre and Andreas Wenzel).

Stenmark’s achievements provided the perfect backdrop to launch SNOW TIME, FILA’s first line of ski clothing and equipment. The collection’s key style was a jacket designed for the champion. It was body hugging, lightweight and featured colour blocking inspired by the Swedish flag. Above all, the jacket was an exercise in engineering. FILA designer Pierluigi Rolando transformed the characteristic elements of the F-Box logo into decorative motifs. On the inside, padding made of foil and rubber created protective armour.

On 8 May 1978, Reinhold Messner, the climber from Bressanone and one of the most significant names in FILA’s history, became a legend. On that day, in the company of Austrian Peter Habeler, he reached the roof of the world; the summit of Mount Everest. The climb (the last length of an expedition led by Wolfgang Nairz) went down in history because it was the first time an alpinist had reached the top without using bottled oxygen.  “We debunked the science that claimed that above 8,500 metres you would die without it,” said Messner. ‘Instead, we climbed to almost 8,900 metres, and then descended back to base camp safe and sound’.

The climb was also a high point for FILA, the Everest team’s official sponsor. Messner wore a practical, very elegant wool jumper with a high collar and side buttoning. The vibrant, grassy green colour of the sweater was requested by Messner himself, in his opinion a neutral shade that does not attract too much sunlight.

In 1978 Gianluigi Buffon, former Italian footballer, was born.