Our Story

Van DiBernardo left Manhattan to return to Buffalo, New York believing he was returning home to die. A diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis halted his DKNY design career that took him to Spain, Italy, France, and Brazil.

 

Van discovered that the heat -- whether a warm room, hot shower, even his own body heat from physical therapy -- could set back his mental and physical abilities for days, even weeks. To prevent overheating, Van designed the first lifestyle cooling vest; 10 years and 5 designs later, Van and I continue to innovate cooling performance products. 

 

My name is Luanne DiBernardo, and Van is my brother. Through Oro Sports, I  honor my brother's talent, his battle to reclaim his health, and our shared desire to help others benefit from the not-so-marginal gains achievable with our garments.  

The success of our first garment inspired the launch of our first company, Coolture, in 2013. Bootstrapped and underfunded, our journey was far from smooth. High on innovation but short on capital, we faced our inevitable closure in 2019. Enter Tom Burns, our manufacturer.

 

Tom is the owner of the cut-and-sew shop that has produced our garments since our start. With his offer of a new chapter, we three went to work on our current catalog of products. Our shared passion for creating solutions for the fast-growing heat problem is the reason we fight the good fight. When your secret sauce is hard work, personal sacrifice, and a strong desire to help others, it makes the journey fulfilling.