Taking its name from the eider duck which has nice, warm downy feathers to keep her eggs warm when hatching its young, Eider, the clothing company, began life in 1962 when Frenchman, Georges Ducruet, made a ski jacket using eider down as insulation to keep the wearer warm and cosy. Dating from around 1980, the jacket we have here in the collection is not quite so warm and cosy – more a strong outer shell made primarily from cotton and pretty much identical to the Mountain Guide jacket we have elsewhere in the collection. Both are windproof and showerproof but neither are waterproof though on the below zero snows of the Alps you would probably stay dry, if a bit chilly. Eider is still a vibrant, innovative company in 2021 in its original town of Annecy, producing top quality ski mountaineering and leisurewear. This ski jacket was bought on the internet for £20 in 2021 – a bargain!