Maria Bogner

In 1936 Bogner created an anorak (parka) for the German Olympic ski team of which her fiancé was a member.[2] After their marriage, Bogner became involved in the fashion side of her husband's business, which included importing ski equipment. In addition to ski apparel, they designed and manufactured blouses, traditional Bavarian dresses, as well as hiking apparel.[5] The growth of their business was interrupted by WWII and her husband's internment by the US.[4]

Stein Eriksen and other skiers wearing stretch pants in 1967.

While her husband was away and in order to support her three children, Bogner continued to design colorful anoraks that were sold by the thousands.[4] In addition to creating and selling parkas, Bogner also began rebuilding the business by creating other products, such as aprons.[4] In 1950, the Bogners began exporting their colorful products to the US, including Bogner's parkas.[6] In 1955 Bogner began branding the company with a logo, styled as a “B”, on all zippers found on their clothing.[7]

In the early 1950s, the Bogners were manufacturing ski pants in gabardine fabric. They were distinctive both for their durability and the wide choice of bright, appealing colors—a break from the previous standards of black, blue and forest green.[4] A Bianchini textile representative introduced Bogner to a new material, developed by the Swiss company, Heberlein, and marketed under the name, Helanca, which was incorporated into a prototype pair of ski pants.[8] Helanca was a blend of wool and a springy, coiled nylon fiber, which allowed the material to stretch and be durable through multiple wash cycles. The problem was how to sew it successfully, which Bogner solved. Early examples of her stretch pants lost their resiliency after a few seasons. This problem was solved such that by 1955, she was exporting them to the US in 42 different colors. The pants were highly successful, despite costing double what conventional ski pants cost at the time, thanks to the sex appeal of their form-fitting cut and wide variety of colors. The product was marketed effectively in catalogs and advertisements, using attractive young women and celebrity athletes, such as Stein Eriksen, as models.[4]

The publicity and advertising of the Bogner line of up-scale fashion made it the choice of such celebrity consumers of ski apparel as, Marilyn Monroe, Ingrid Bergman, the Shah of Iran, and Toni Sailer. Bogner apparel was also in demand by ski teams for its aerodynamic efficiency and warmth. By the mid-1960s many other companies were producing stretch pants.[8] Bogner remained active in the company until the early 1970s, when her sons, Michael and Willy Jr., took over the business.[4]