Z-90: The Artist’s Perspective
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If skis are artwork, then there are a handful of artists who bring each creation to life. For the Z-90, one such is Richard Morin, the ski graphic designer behind the original artwork on the Renoun Endurance model and now, a decade later, the 10th anniversary Z-90. “In designing the 10th anniversary Z-90 ski, I wanted to attempt to capture the journey that Cyrus and Renoun have been on these past 10 years,” says Morin. “When I design, which honestly is rare these days, I don't think too much. I go on intuition almost as if I were painting or making art for myself which I do more these days than design.” The result of that intuition is the golden, swirling art that lies atop the carving ski.
Blueprint of Richard Morin & Cyrus Schenck's Z-90 design
Morin’s impact on the world of ski design has deep roots. In addition to his early days with Renoun, Morin went on to leave his impact on brands like Nordica, during their rebrand and the rise of the Nordica Enforcer. These days, Morin has shifted away from ski design into the clean energy space, where he works to bring to market electrification solutions to help mitigate climate change and help us pivot from reliance on fossil fuels.
Still, he couldn’t resist the call to action when founder Cyrus Schenck reached out about the new graphic for the Z-90, and he was surprised to see the new direction that Cyrus was hoping to take the ski. Instead of the geometric shapes that cover most of Renoun’s lineup, Cyrus’s inspirational photos were more organic, including shots of goldeen rivers, honeycomb, and eclipses.
“After seeing the images and having a really brief conversation with Cyrus, I saw in my mind the cosmos and the churning emotional nature of birthing a brand and carrying it forward as Cyrus has done these past ten years,” Morin explains. “I wanted to visualize the molecular alchemy of introducing VibeStop™ into a ski. How a young skier with a dream eclipsed an industry, winning international awards with his first ski.”
Initial printing of Morin's Z-90 design
Morin goes on to state that the resulting design was a more organic and emotional one when compared to the art on Renoun’s other models, referencing the Z-90’s “touchpoints to the cosmos, massive mountains, rivers of snow and the bending of physics. There were no straight lines in this particular set of graphics.” If it was a diversion from business as usual, Cyrus was all in, and out of the graphic version Morin sent along, Cyrus gravitated toward the most organic, freeflow iteration.
Blueprint of Richard Morin & Cyrus Schenck's Z-90 design
For Cyrus’s part, he notes that the beauty of the new Z-90 graphic is that, like any true artwork, its interpretation is up to the individual. Maybe the swirls look like loose references to topography. Maybe the golden swirls symbolize fireworks, or little bits of cosmos, or simply do a good job of reflecting light off the snow. Regardless of interpretation, the Z-90 graphic is a new take on the brand’s relationship to ski graphics. And Cyrus’s decision to haed in this direction is one that, Morin says, “captures the same sense of boldness and confidence that I first saw in Cyrus when we met some ten years earlier.”
Morin was more than happy to take part in the revival of the Z-90 and leave his imprint on the model. “It may sound a little over the top,” he says, “but Cyrus’s decision to pick this graphic validated the feeling I had that the universe had brought us back together some ten years later to work on this milestone graphic. I am grateful for having met Cyrus and played a very small part in his and Renoun's journey.”
Credit - Lucy Higgins
The Author: Lucy Higgins
Lucy is a seasoned editor and writer with a background in magazine publishing and creative directing. Formerly the Editor-in-Chief at Backcountry Magazine, she now works as a freelance writer and editor.
When Lucy's not at a desk, she can be found running, skiing, and spending time with her toddler.
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