In the quiet intensity of a New chapter in the world of skiing unfolds not on the slopes alone, but in the studio, the studio of memory, and the shared heartbeat of a family. Emiliano Donaggio—artist, father, and the creative force behind a string of bold, Basquiat-inspired graphic designs—has long believed that art and sport are two faces of the same human drive: to push limits, to narrate one’s journey, to imagine a future that others can ride into. The collaboration with Völkl, announced against the backdrop of a season brimming with potential, crystallizes this belief into a living collection: a suite of Revolt skis that are as much canvases as they are tools for the mountain.
Leonardo Donaggio, Emiliano’s son, stands at the center of this story—not only as the brand’s rising athlete but as a living emblem of the partnership’s core philosophy: Built Together. After a celebrated early career which saw Leonardo grow into a motivated, resilient rider, the family’s narrative threads themselves into the skis Leonardo uses. The collaboration began in Venice, a city where art, water, and history mingle, and where a first conversation between artist and athlete took root—an exchange enriched by the participation of other Völkl-sponsored athletes and the brand’s leadership, who welcomed Emiliano’s vivid world with open arms and a sense of familial belonging.
The designs are more than merely decorative. They are a visual diary of a life shaped by family, nature, and perseverance. The Revolt 101, for example, carries the story of Leonardo’s comeback—an artist’s chronicle of injury, recovery, and renewed ambition as he looks toward Cortina 2026. The Revolt 104 unfolds a portrait of Emiliano’s children—an homage to the loves that steady and guide him—while the Freerider Revolt 121 becomes a self-portrait of the artist’s inner world, translating emotion and lived experience into a form that can ride down a hillside with equal parts rage and lyricism.
In this body of work, the family is the axis. Emiliano writes with a tenderness that resonates beyond the frame: “There is nothing greater than seeing my art on the skis that my son—and the entire community—now ride,” he says. The project becomes less about signature styles and more about a shared human project: a family’s values—respect, humility, education, dreams pursued with tenacity—encoded into lines, letters, and color, turning the skis into moving murals that tell the Donaggio story wherever they travel.
The images are not merely about the family’s identity; they echo the broader philosophy of Völkl’s Built Together initiative. The collaboration is portrayed as more than a one-off art project. It is a magical convergence of what matters most to Emiliano: art, sport, and the intimate truths of a life lived in tandem with his son. The partnership honors Leonardo’s journey as a professional athlete, celebrates the generational bond that fuels both father and son, and elevates a family’s everyday experiences into objects of public admiration.
In the press materials, the nine-model collection becomes a testament to a multi-faceted dialogue: between painterly abstraction and the functional realities of ski design; between personal stories and a brand identity committed to innovation; between a father’s reverence for family and a son’s emerging presence on the world stage. The Revolt line—spanning Revolt 81, 86, 90, 96, 101, 104, 112, 114, and 121—transforms into a gallery of motion, where each model carries its own chapter and its own set of memories: dates, phrases, and drawings that drift in and out of the snow like whispered legends.
As the winter Games in Cortina approach, the Donaggio family’s tale of art and sport remains a living, evolving canvas. It is a narrative where the artist’s studio meets the ski slope, where Leonardo’s professional circle expands, and where Emiliano’s reverence for family—his “richest wealth”—becomes a guiding light for others who ride in his wake. The collection invites athletes and everyday riders alike to imagine themselves as artists of their own journeys, to see the ski as a canvas, and to ride with the same sense of purpose that the Donaggios bring to every season.
In the end, Built Together is more than a logo or a marketing slogan. It is a philosophy distilled into steel edges, resin, and color—an invitation to join a family’s art in motion. For Emiliano and Leonardo, the partnership with Völkl is a doorway: not just to new designs, but to a shared destiny where father and son continue to teach, to dream, and to ride toward an ever-brighter horizon.
Photo credits: The photographs come from the artist’s archive.
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